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The inquiry into a dog attack on an elderly Birkenhead woman has proven difficult for investigators because the victim and the dog's minder require interpreters.
The attack left the woman, aged about 85, with a "3cm gash" on her face after she leaned down to pat the rottweiler-cross outside the Birkenhead New World supermarket on Monday afternoon.
North Shore City Council staff will decide today whether charges will be laid and if the dog will be destroyed.
Council environmental protection team leader Warwick Robertson said it was likely the dog, described as "aggressive" by animal control officers, would be put down.
He said there had been one previous complaint about the dog, for barking, but that was "some time ago" and was considered minor.
A police spokesman said officers were liaising with council staff conducting the investigation.
"There are some complications because the victim has limited English and the man with the dog also requires an interpreter."
The Birkenhead attack occurred two days after a Murupara woman was killed by two dogs.
