Dog owner told: Get ready for jail

By AINSLEY THOMSON

A judge has warned the man whose dog savagely attacked a Thames toddler that he needs be prepared for a prison sentence.

Wayne Hati would be the first person sent to prison under tougher dog control laws passed in the wake of last year's attack on 7-year-old Carolina Anderson in Auckland.

Hati, 22, appeared in the Thames District Court yesterday for sentencing in relation to owning the dog that mauled and injured 2 1/2-year-old Alex Josey in February.

Judge Merelina Burnett said Hati, who pleaded guilty to the offence in March, faced a prison sentence under the new law, which carries a maximum of three years imprisonment or $20,000 in fines.

Previously, the charge carried three months in prison and a $5000 fine.

Hati's sentencing was adjourned until June 16 to allow time for a restorative justice meeting between him and Alex's family.

Judge Burnett said there had been a lot of publicity about the new legislation after Carolina received horrific facial wounds when she was mauled by an american staffordshire terrier.

Her father, architect John Anderson, lobbied the Government to change the existing dog laws and in November the Dog Control Amendment Act was passed.

"It is no surprise the legislation was changed to recognise the seriousness of these attacks," Judge Burnett said yesterday.

Hati's dog, a labrador staffordshire cross called Krone, was the kind of dog known by its breed to be prone to such attacks, she said.

Hati also had two puppies which along with Krone were sometimes untied and allowed to roam around the neighbourhood.

There was some debate about the exact whereabouts of Alex when he was attacked on February 14, but Judge Burnett said it did not matter.

"A young child has been dreadfully disfigured and attacked in a foreseeable situation."

Judge Burnett asked Hati if the dogs, which have now been put down, were registered. None was.

Her final advice was that he needed to be prepared on his return to court to receive a jail term.

Outside the court Hati told the Herald that he was surprised Judge Burnett appeared to be considering prison. He had been expecting a fine or community service.

Alex's mother, Arlene Hutton, said she did not want Hati to go to prison. "I have changed my mind since the attack, when I was really upset and angry. He [Hati] has admitted the dogs were his and they have been put down.

"We have got on with our lives, he should be able to get on with his."

She thought a fine would be more suitable.

Yesterday, playing at the family's Whitianga home, Alex shared little resemblance to the subdued boy the Herald first encountered lying in a hospital bed three months ago.

Then, his face was so swollen he could not open his eyes and he had 5m of stitches in the deep wounds on his scalp and face.

The scars remain, but now Alex is full of energy and the usual toddler antics.

Ms Hutton said although it was hoped the scars would eventually fade, the behavioural problems Alex had developed since the attack were proving harder to deal with.

"Before he was the best child. I had never seen him hit anyone. But now when he gets upset he attacks."

Ms Hutton said Alex, who suffers from the eye condition aniridia, which means he has no irises and only partial eyesight, would hit and scratch children at playcentre.