KEY POINTS:
The owner of a pitbull dog which savaged an Auckland toddler last week will not be charged, police said today.
The pitbull, owned by the child's father, was chained up in the family yard in Henderson when the two-year-old boy wandered in on Thursday.
It attacked the boy, leaving him with a broken jaw and severe facial injuries.
The boy remains in a stable condition in Auckland's Starship Hospital.
The dog was destroyed on Saturday morning, and police met with Waitakere District Council animal control officers today to discuss whether charges would be laid.
Sergeant Brian Leslie, of Henderson police, told NZPA last week that although the dog was on private property, and restrained at the time of the attack, the owner could be charged with owning a dangerous animal.
However, Radio New Zealand reported today police had decided not to charge the owner.
He had surrendered the dog, which had been destroyed and that satisfied public safety requirements, and the family was suffering enough with a badly hurt toddler to look after.
- NZPA
