Neighbour's pet pooch saves Northland man attacked by dogs

Titan, who went to the rescue when Far North man Chris Radich was attacked by dogs. PHOTO/Supplied

Awanui man Chris Radich gives the dogs at the end of Long St a wide berth - for good reason.

They have threatened him on a number of occasions, once when he was mowing lawns at the other end of the street. The only thing that saved him that day was the lawnmower, which he managed to keep between him and the dogs, he said.

On Tuesday he wasn't so lucky. He was pushing a hand cart loaded with a plastic dog kennel along the street when three dogs rushed him, two biting him, leaving both hands bloodied.

He leapt on to the trolley and threw the kennel at them, without effect. It was a neighbour's dog, Titan, that saw them off.

"He's a hero," Mr Radich said.

"If it hadn't been for him I would have been ripped to smithereens."

Chris Radich suffered wounds to both hands when he was attacked by three dogs. PHOTO/ Supplied

Apart from his wounds, which he later sought medical attention for, he was deeply aggrieved by what he said was a lack of action by the Far North District Council. Animal control officers had taken the dogs away on more than one occasion but kept returning them.

No action was taken over the lawnmower incident because Mr Radich had not been bitten.

"Everyone in the street has been complaining about [the dogs] for ages. I've complained heaps," he said.

"It's not surprising that they're like this," he added.

"They're tied up all day and go crazy when they're let off. I don't know why anyone would have dogs like that, or even want them if they're not going to look after them."

His major concern was for the children who gathered in the dogs' immediate vicinity while they waited for their daily school bus.

"If they attack a child there's no telling what damage they will do," he said.

The Far North District Council's general manager - district services, Dean Myburgh, said the attack on Mr Radich had been very serious, and animal management staff had responded quickly.

Staff were doing all they could to ensure that such an attack did not happen again, and were exploring all options available under the Dog Control Act.

Two animal management staff had interviewed Mr Radich on Tuesday, and later that day impounded two of the dogs involved. The owner was not present. A third dog, which Mr Radich said had not been involved, remained at the property.

The fate of all three dogs would be decided in the course of an investigation that was now under way.

"These dogs were involved in a previous incident, where they rushed Mr Radich but did not attack him. They were impounded, but later released after it was decided that this incident did not meet the threshold required to get an order for their destruction," Dr Myburgh said.

The dogs had been registered at that time, but none were on Tuesday.

Animal management staff would revisit the property to take a statement from the owner. They would also take a statement from Titan's owner.

"It is unacceptable that Mr Radich has been injured, and this incident underlines the need for all dog owners to be responsible and to keep their pets under control at all times," he added.