Attack dog surrendered, destroyed

Kawerau District Council dog ranger Rex Schneller keeps tight control of the pitbull cross that attacked the 2-year-old girl. Photo / Alan Gibson

Council officers have destroyed the dog that bit the face of a 2-year-old Bay of Plenty girl.

The 4-year-old pitbull-cross was surrendered for destruction by its owner yesterday morning and it was put down in the afternoon.

The toddler it attacked while she was visiting family members with her parents in Kawerau on Saturday had surgery at Whakatane Hospital and has since returned home.

Kawerau District Council regulatory manager Chris Jensen was happy the owner had come forward.

"The owner was co-operative with us and, as I've said, we had been trying to make contact with him but he had been involved with a work commitment.

"The outcome we usually seek from a situation like this is that the dog is put down so it doesn't present any further threat to the community."

The girl's family still did not want to press charges, concluding the issue as far as the council was concerned, he said.

"We've received no complaints from the family, but we're happy to leave it and let the family sort the rest of the issues out. I think it's a good outcome.

"I guess the key thing to understand is that we were not dealing with a dog that was randomly leaving a property and attacking someone indiscriminately.

"It occurred in a family environment ..."

A bull mastiff-cross that mauled a 4-year-old in Masterton at the weekend, has also been destroyed and its owner is facing charges.