Neither the police nor the Far North District Council had progress to report yesterday regarding their investigations of an attack by a dog on another dog and its owner in Kaitaia on January 15 (Dog and owner attacked in Kaitaia, Northland Age January 19).
A police spokesman said last week that it was not yet clear whether the owner of the dog that bit an Auckland woman and mauled her Welsh terrier had committed a criminal offence, while the council said yesterday that its investigation was progressing, and that it should be able to say more later in the week.
The complainant was treated at Kaitaia Hospital for a puncture wound to her left forearm, while her dog was treated at a Kaitaia veterinary clinic for what was described as extensive soft tissue damage.
Talking to the Northland Age, the complainant said she had followed her dog when it squeezed through a gate and ran across the street on to a private property. The resident told her that if she did not remove it his dogs would attack it, but according to the victim deliberately obstructed her attempts to leash her dog and leave. She also told police and the council that he had opened a gate, releasing a dog that attacked her terrier and bit her when she tried to lift it out of its reach. Police had advised her not to return alone to the property where she had intended staying for several days.
She returned to Auckland the following day, saying she just wanted to get out of Kaitaia.
