Jail time sought for owner of dog

By CATHERINE MASTERS

The father of the 7-year-old girl savaged by a dog in an Auckland park says the dog's owner - who has still not come forward - should go to jail for years.

"If you're driving a car and you kill somebody and you go away, what is the difference?"

John Anderson says he and friends in the legal and publishing world will campaign for tougher sentences for the owners of dangerous dogs because present sentences are a "slap on the hand".

His daughter Carolina was attacked at Cox's Bay Reserve in Westmere on Friday night.

"She was grievously wounded and damaged by this attack," said her father, pointing to where she and friends had been playing among sprinklers when the dog lunged.

"She is recovering. She is able to eat and she can communicate with us and she understands what is going on around her.

"We don't know whether she has lost the sight in one of her eyes yet.

"She has lost pieces of her face and head. With one of my friends, I came back here afterwards on the same evening and we found her scalp and a piece of her cheek which we had hoped we could reattach, but they couldn't do it."



The family live near the park and often went there. Mr Anderson always thought it was a safe place, but it no longer was.

"Nowhere is safe at the moment so something has to change."

He said the man who claimed the dog after the attack was "despicable", giving a false name and telephone number and then disappearing.

The owner ought to face charges, Mr Anderson said.

"I would like to ask the owner of the dog to please hand over the dog and call the police and go and talk with them before his situation becomes any more serious than it already is."

He wants people to contact their MPs about changes in dog-control laws.

Carolina is the fourth child in New Zealand to be mauled this year. Up-to-date statistics on dog attacks are unavailable, but in 1996 police reported 623 offences. In 1994 there were 920.

Today, Labour MP Steve Chadwick and Local Government Minister Chris Carter will try to get Ms Chadwick's private members bill, giving dog control officers the power to seize dogs on private property, made a Government bill so it can be heard urgently.

Auckland mayor John Banks says "the two-legged dogs", the people who train animals to attack, are the real problem behind vicious dog attacks.

Although he was "terribly sorry" for Carolina, banning vicious dogs was not the answer to a complex issue. He believes judges have been too lenient on dog owners.

* People with information about the attack on Carolina should call police on 0800 248-836.

What to do if attacked

St John's has issued dog-maul advice:

* Victims should always get medical attention, even if the injury is minor, because all dogs carry bacteria and other organisms in their mouths which can be injected deep into the tissues.

* Reassure the victim that he or she is safe and whether the dog is secure, and give immediate first aid.

* Any bleeding should be controlled by direct pressure and injuries covered where possible with clean, dry material.

* At the scene of an attack, rescuers should be mindful of their own safety if the dog is still free.