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A man accused of owning two dogs that fatally mauled his aunt says he sympathises with the owners of a dog that attacked a child in Christchurch.
"I feel for them," Shane Rurehe said yesterday. "I know what they're going through."
Rurehe, 43, was due to appear at the Rotorua District Court for sentencing on charges of owning two bull mastiff crosses which attacked Murupara woman Virginia Ohlson.
But the sentencing was delayed when police produced new evidence that his dogs had tried to attack other people, including children, before the April 21 attack that killed Ms Ohlson.
Rurehe did not accept the evidence and the matter will now proceed to a disputed-facts hearing on August 31.
Outside court, Rurehe said he remained "sick to the stomach" about what happened to Ms Ohlson, his 56-year-old aunt through marriage.
"It just won't go away. I think it most probably won't go away for ever."
He offered support to the owners of the american staffordshire terrier cross which attacked 2-year-old Aotea Coxon in a Christchurch park on August 1. Aotea required 290 stitches to her face.
Rurehe and his wife, Yvonne Thomas, were also "stunned" by new allegations that his dogs, Malibu and Patu, had rushed at people, jumped on children, attacked other dogs and killed a cat.
Rurehe told the Herald he used to make a point of letting the dogs out to play with his children when they brought their friends around.
"They rode on their backs and everything."
Ms Thomas, his wife of 17 years, was close to tears at the end of the hearing and said she was "shattered" it was not over.
"It's my kids who are suffering more," she said.
The court heard that Rurehe faced the possibility of imprisonment, but his lawyer, Harry Edward, asked for home detention or a deferred sentence if a prison sentence was imposed.
He said Rurehe had shown sincere remorse, was considered a leader in his forestry job, and had responsibilities to his four children aged 5 to 15. He had also offered to set up an education trust fund for Ms Ohlson's teenage son, Jason.
But prosecuting Sergeant Mark Royal said police had uncovered numerous incidents involving Rurehe's dogs being aggressive and intimidating to people and other animals while investigating Ms Ohlson's death.
The incidents included the dogs jumping on a 5-year-old child, killing a neighbour's cat, and rushing at a person who was forced to jump a fence to escape. However, no complaints were made to the local dog ranger or council.
Outside court, Rurehe said he now believed the best way to prevent dogs attacking was to "keep them tied up".
