KEY POINTS:
Animal control officers are waiting for the owner of a pitbull dog which attacked a toddler in west Auckland yesterday to give the go-ahead for its destruction.
The pitbull, owned by the toddler's father, savaged the two-year-old boy as he wandered in the family yard, leaving him with multiple fractures, including a broken jaw, and severe facial injuries.
The toddler is in a stable condition in Auckland's Starship Hospital.
The pitbull was on a chain at the time of the attack.
Waitakere City Council animal control manager Neil Wells said the dog would be destroyed. However, the council needed either the voluntary surrender of the dog by its owner, or a court order.
It was being held in the city pound and would not be released.
He said the dog could never be trusted again.
"You could not take that risk. Any behaviour it has is going to be inherent. You wouldn't be able to retrain that dog."
Mr Wells said the council was hopeful a voluntary surrender would be forthcoming.
Animal control officers needed two catch poles to restrain the dog at its Te Atatu home.
It was so aggressive one of the strong aluminium poles bent as the dog was put into a cage.
He had never heard of a dog being so aggressive.
"On a scale of one to 10, I would put it as a 10."
Mr Wells said he understood the dog was being kept as a guard dog rather than a pet.
Sergeant Brian Leslie, of Henderson police, said the owner had not yet given permission for the dog to be destroyed.
However, the family was co-operating with police and was naturally devastated by what had happened.
"It's the same as looking away from your child for a minute at the beach and when you look back they're in the water," he said.
Police had spoken with the family, but needed to take formal statements before making a decision on what charges would be laid.
- NZPA
