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A mauling from a pitbull has left Leo the guide dog nursing his wounds and his blind owner too scared to leave his home.
The great dane-pointer cross guide dog and his owner Petrus Tuerlings were set upon by a red-nosed pitbull in Massey - the third dog attack they have suffered in the past year.
It left Leo with deep stomach wounds requiring several stitches and Mr Tuerlings with puncture marks to a finger.
"This dog was just going for it. [A woman] drove past ... and she jumped out of her car and started yelling at the dog for him to stop," Mr Tuerlings said.
"It made no sense at all."
One of the earlier attacks on Leo involved another pitbull from the same house, which led to the dog being destroyed.
In the other attack Leo was set upon by two dogs.
Mr Tuerlings, a 41-year-old kitchen-hand at a Henderson rest home, said the latest attack, two weeks ago, made him fear leaving his house.
"I'm too nervous to go walking now. I wanted to go to the gym the other day but could hear dogs barking behind fences and did not want to go any further," he said.
Attacks on guide dogs were not uncommon.
Angie Coupar, a dog mobility instructor from the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, said there had been 14 cases where guide dogs needed medical treatment after being attacked over the past year.
Miss Coupar said it was "incredibly lucky" Leo was not too badly injured, as the loss of a guide dog can be a huge setback to a blind person's independence.
"Often what happens when guide dogs get attacked is that their response in relation to other dogs can deteriorate and they too can feel incredibly nervous about going out," Miss Coupar said.
Training a guide dog costs about $22,500 and can take up to two years.
Waitakere City Council animal welfare manager, Neil Wells, said an investigation into the attack was under way but was being hampered by an "unco-operative" dog owner who has not given up the pitbull.
Mr Wells confirmed the same person had another pitbull which attacked Leo in a separate incident. It has since been put down.
Although Mr Tuerlings is $500 out of pocket through dog medical bills and is still trying to come to terms with the attack, he said Leo seemed to be doing fine.
"Actually he's going a bit stir crazy with the healing and not being able to go walking.
"I think he's handling the whole thing better than I am."
