Dog attack victim making good progress

A five-year-old girl who underwent 10 hours of surgery after being mauled by two dogs was today reported to be making good progress.

The girl, who was attacked in Bay of Plenty at the weekend, suffering what were described as potentially life-threatening injuries, could be home by next week, a Waikato Hospital spokeswoman said today.

The incident at Taneatua, 13km south of Whakatane, was one of two on Sunday in which a young child was the victim of a serious dog attack - the other involved a three-year-old Hawke's Bay girl who also needed surgery - and reignited calls for tougher dog control laws.

The five-year-old's parents, named only as Shaun and Helen, said today that they had been overwhelmed by the public response to their daughter's plight.

The couple said the cards, letters, gifts and texts they had received had boosted their spirits through an horrific time.

"We thank the media and the public for their kind wishes and support," they said in a statement.

"It has certainly helped us deal with what happened to our daughter."

Among those they made special mention of were the family in a van that the father flagged down and who took him and his daughter to Whakatane Hospital, and Waikato Hospital surgeon Adam Greenbaum and his team who "restored their daughter to them when they were in despair".

The couple have declined media requests for interviews, saying they wanted to concentrate on caring for their daughter through her rehabilitation.

The attack happened as the girl and her father were visiting a house.

The owner let out the dogs, two pitbull-bulldog crossbreeds, to meet them and the animals attacked the girl, causing multiple injuries to her face, neck, arms and legs.

The dogs were later destroyed.

- NZPA