Dog owners need to take more responsibility for securing their yards and their pets after two dog attacks left posties seriously injured, New Zealand Post says.
NZ Post general manager of postal delivery Matthew Nant has called on dog owners to think hard about the damage their pets could cause,
after the dog attacks in Whakatane and Auckland .
In Auckland, a postie was still recovering from severe lower leg injuries suffered when she was attacked by a mastiff-cross dog while delivering mail in South Auckland on August 23.
She was expected to be off work for several weeks to recover from the injuries.
Manukau City Council was moving to prosecute the owner of the dog which, depending on a court decision, could be destroyed.
In Whakatane another postie was hospitalised this week after she was attacked and badly bitten on the upper leg by a dog.
The incident is being investigated by the Whakatane council.
Mr Nant said, in the Auckland incident, the "huge" dog attacked the postie after managing to force its way out of a property through a closed gate.
The postie had no chance of escaping and was dragged off her bicycle, he said.
"It is just lucky that there was someone home at the house and they were able to come to the postie's aid -- otherwise the result could have been much worse."
Mr Nant said dogs had always been "an occupational hazard" for posties -- but the popularity of particularly large and aggressive dogs meant the job had become more dangerous and stressful in recent years.
Posties were instructed to report the presence of dangerously aggressive dogs so the details could be passed on to councils for possible action, he said.
- NZPA
