Dog attack victim Steve Brady yesterday sympathised with the bull terrier sentenced to death for savaging his leg.
The Christchurch man pointed the finger of blame squarely at the owner.
"The dog's not to blame. The dog will be put down, but it's not responsible for ... the way it acted," Mr Brady said as he sat at home with several stitches in a deep gash where the dog latched onto him.
"[The authorities] asked me if I wanted to prosecute the owner. No, I don't want to prosecute the owner. They will just go along and pay a fine - what does that do?
"They should be not allowed to own a dog.
"We have dogs and they are trained."
Mr Brady was visiting a house in Avonside, where the dog lived, on Friday afternoon to buy a child walker.
As soon as the door of the house was opened, the dog rushed past its female owner and attacked Mr Brady.
"The dog just doesn't bite - it tears. It's like a bloody knife," he said.
"I was thinking that I was going to send my wife and she would have gone with my son and my 4-year-old daughter ... We were just lucky - lucky it was me."
The dog that attacked Mr Brady was known to dog control officers. It was voluntarily handed over by the owner to be destroyed.
Recent high-profile dog attacks around the country have prompted calls for tougher legislation and, from some, a ban on certain dangerous breeds of dog.
Mr Brady does not agree with such a ban.
"I don't think it's the breed of dog - I think it's the people who own the dog."
- NZPA
Herald Feature: When dogs attack
How you can help
A trust fund has been opened for 7-year-old dog attack victim Carolina Anderson. You can send a cheque to: Carolina Anderson Trust Account, BNZ, PO Box 46-294, Herne Bay, or donate over the internet to BNZ account number 020 248 000 3002-000.
The Herald is backing an appeal to raise money for a $150,000 operating-room microscope for Middlemore's plastic surgery unit. The microscope is essential in minute plastic surgery work such as reattaching nerves. Middlemore has two, used on Carolina Anderson and the victims of the Pipiroa sword attack, but they need replacing. Donations can be sent to: The Microsurgery Appeal, Editorial Department, New Zealand Herald, PO Box 706, Auckland.
