Fatal dog attack worst veteran police officer has seen

1.00pm

A Dunedin police officer has described the dog attack which left a woman dead in her backyard as the worst he has seen in his long career.

Carol Leanne Taylor, 39, a sickness beneficiary suffered major head and upper body injuries from the attack by her pet bull mastiff late yesterday afternoon.

Animal control officers have confirmed the dog was well-known to them, although mostly for "minor offences".

Senior Sergeant Phil McDouall said today staff investigating the death were holding up so far.

"They found the deceased, she was still alive in the back yard, the dog was standing nearby in a very menacing state," he told National Radio.

"They tried to do CPR on her and due to the fact the dog was still there we had to destroy it for the safety of the staff."

Mr McDouall said the dog was killed with a rifle.

He said the attack started in the lounge, where there was blood and upturned furniture.

"I've been in the police a long, long time and that would be the worst attack I have ever seen in my career," Mr McDouall said.

A dog attacking its owner in such a manner was very unusual.

Dunedin City Council development services manager Kevin Thompson said today the bull mastiff had been reported "on three or four occasions for minor offences -- such as barking and wandering -- which were resolved without any sign of aggressive behaviour.

"On a later occasion the dog's owner approached the DCC and asked them to remove her dog as it was causing her concern," Mr Thompson said.

"But she then declined to sign the necessary release form which would have allowed us to remove it."

Later the animal control team impounded the dog after it was found wandering. It was subsequently reclaimed and released into the care of its owner, he said.

"On both these occasions the dog appeared well-behaved and gave our officers no cause for concern."

Neighbour Melva Dixon recounted the end of the attack yesterday after she was alerted by high-pitched squealing noises "like a cat" coming from next door.

Mrs Dixon, 72, found Ms Taylor attempting to fight the dog off while sitting on the ground in the back yard of her home. Blood was coming from a bite wound on her arm, she said.

Mrs Dixon remained behind a solid gate blocking access to the back yard and called out to the woman, but was answered only by screams, she said.

"I said to her 'do you want the ambulance?' and I could not understand what she was saying, because there was only screams and yells."

Another neighbour Pauleen Tangimetua said the dog had frightened Ms Taylor so much that she had called animal control in June herself for help.

She said Ms Taylor could not stop the dog ripping her clothes, but withdrew consent for it to be taken to the pound before the officer could take it away.

- NZPA