KEY POINTS:
A Christchurch man feared the worst when he received a text saying his kids had been attacked - "You better get back here".
Two of Geoff Thomas' daughters, Molly, eight, and Georgia, six, had been attacked by a dog while walking past a neighbour's house in suburban Redwood, Christchurch.
The Press reported that the girls and their older sister, Aimee, were being looked after by a neighbour while their parents were out. They were walking to a friend's house when the attack happened.
It left Molly with eight stitches to a 15cm gash on her arm and Georgia with 12 puncture wounds on her legs, back and shoulder.
Molly had said three dogs, thought to be dagos, similar to mastiffs, ran out of a section and attacked. A large white dog was the main attacker.
Neighbours rushed to save the girls, jumping fences and pulling the dog away.
Mr Thomas told the newspaper he received a text while visiting a friend that said: "Mate, your kids have been attacked. You better get back here."
A woman at the house the dog came from said the dog attacked when the girls entered her property.
Police and council dog-control officers took the dogs away.
- NZPA