Kaikohe hunt for dogs that attacked fox terrier cross in Harold Ave continues

Kaikohe man Jim Morgan is lost without his best mate Sandy and wants the public to help find the pack of dogs that inflicted fatal injuries on his pet. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The search for the pack of six dogs that attacked 95-year-old Jim Morgan's dog Sandy in Kaikohe's Harold Ave on December 16 has so far failed to find the animals or their owner.

There was initial hope that Sandy could be saved by the amputation of his left hind leg, but the dog had to be put down two days later.

Far North District Council environmental services manager Darren Edwards said the animal management team had investigated tips from the public, but neither the dogs, nor their owner — who was apparently riding a blue quad bike and was believed to be local — had been identified.

Jim Morgan, 95, says goodbye to his fox terrier cross Sandy before his pet was put down due to injuries suffered in a dog attack. Photo / Cynthia Moran

Staff would continue to canvass residents in the hope that someone could provide the information needed.

Edwards urged anyone who knew where the dogs had come from, or who owned them, to call the council on 0800 920 029.

"This is the best chance we have of finding the dogs and preventing another attack," he said.

"In the meantime we have stepped up animal management patrols around the area of the attack, and in Kaikohe generally."

After the attack Morgan said the dogs, which were accompanied by a man on a quad bike, "took a beeline" for Sandy.

The man shooed the dogs off then took off on his bike. That got rid of the dogs, which followed the bike, but the rider didn't check to see if he and Sandy were okay, Morgan said.

The former serviceman, who spent part of World War II stationed at the Waipapakauri airfield, said Sandy had been only a year or two old when he adopted the dog from the pound at Okaihau in 2009.

"I'm lost without him. Sandy has been my cobber since my wife died in 2011. He was very intelligent - he knew what I was going to do before I did it."

As well as missing his mate, Morgan was also struggling to fill his days. Poor eyesight meant he couldn't read or watch television, and a heart complaint meant he couldn't work in the garden.

"The only thing I was able to do was walk the dog three times a day. Now I'm stuck in the house all day, it's quite miserable," he said at the time.