Man and his two dogs save woman from pitbull

By ELIZABETH BINNING and SCOTT MacLEOD

A 69-year-old man walking his two german shepherds in Tokoroa became an unlikely hero when he saved a woman being mauled by her own pitbull-mastiff.

Tui Thompson, 28, was walking in a park with her son Wiremu, 9, and niece Palys Wheki, 2, when she let her dog Chopper off his leash so he could swim in a creek.

Chopper, returned from his swim in an ugly mood, tugging at his collar and biting Palys' pants. Ms Thompson thought the big dog was playing, then realised he was not.

"I started to panic and Palys was freaking out," she said. "It was like he was trying to kill her."

Ms Thomson grabbed Chopper and yelled at the children to run home and get help as the dog started ripping at her limbs. Wiremu was half way home when he found Alec Gordon walking his dogs.

Mr Gordon rushed into Matarawa Park and found Palys crying. He then found Chopper "savaging the hell" out of Ms Thompson.

He could do little to make the dog release her shoulders. He tried kicking the dog but 5-year-old Chopper had already torn the clothes from Ms Thompson's back and would not let go. Mr Gordon set his own dogs on Chopper.

"That dog must have been savaging that woman for six or seven minutes before I got there.

"I hope I never witness anything like that again. To see a dog savaging a human like that, it's like going back to the Dark Ages."

Mr Gordon said he could not pull Chopper off the woman because his collar had come off during the struggle so instead he kicked him in the testicles. "I must have kicked him a dozen times but he just completely ignored me."

With no options left, Mr Gordon released his dogs, who rushed at Chopper and started fighting.

"I told the woman to get up and run, so she got up and got out of it.

"The dog was savaging my dogs so I grabbed the leashes and hauled them away. Then, all of a sudden, the dog decided he'd had enough and went back to where the woman's clothes were. He had ripped them all off, and just sat there until police arrived."

Detective Sergeant Greg Standen said Mr Gordon's actions in the Friday attack were commendable.

Chopper was shot by a police officer who arrived at the park soon after to find the dog still agitated and sitting next to the shredded clothing.

Palys was well yesterday despite a bite to her buttocks. Ms Thompson has had stitches in bites all over her limbs and breast. She said she got Chopper only six weeks ago from a friend of her brother-in-law.

"He said it was a family dog and good with kids."