A woman has been banned from owning dogs after her pet attacked a friend.
A Kaikohe woman has been banned from owning dogs for five years after her unregistered pitbull-cross attacked a friend three times.
Maxine Tipene, 43, was convicted in the Kaikohe District Court last week following the incident in October last year.
As well as barring her from owning a dog for
five years, the judge ordered her to pay the Far North District Council more than $1500 in costs. He also ordered the dog, which had been held in a pound since the attack, be destroyed.
Council field compliance manager Barry Webb said the conviction was a reminder to dog owners to take all reasonable steps to make sure their dogs did not injure people. The attack occurred when a friend was visiting the woman at her home. When the woman left the room, her dog - a three-year-old pit bull terrier-cross - attacked her friend.
The dog stopped when the woman returned to the room but then attacked again. The woman tried to pull the dog off but it escaped her clutches and attacked her friend for a third time. The victim suffered wounds requiring medical treatment to her upper thigh, upper arm and ankle. Three stitches were needed to close the wound on her arm.
