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Surgeons have attempted to reattach a child's ear after it was torn off by a dog on a Canterbury lakeside, but will have to wait to see if they have been successful.
The 2-year-old and his Australian family are believed to have been staying with the owners of the Staffordshire bull terrier when the dog attacked the boy and ripped off his ear at Lake Crichton on Sunday afternoon.
The boy was rushed to Christchurch Hospital and the dog has been impounded by the Selwyn District Council, which is awaiting directions on the dog's fate.
Police are considering whether to charge the dog owners, who had told police they did not want their pet destroyed, and therefore a court order will be required to have it put down.
Detective Sergeant Ross Tarawhiti said the nature of the surgery to reattach the boy's ear meant it was "unsure whether it will be successful until later in the week".
Police would seek all available witnesses to the attack to establish exactly what happened. "From there a decision will be made about what is going to happen to the dog, and if any charges could be laid against the owners.
"If a dog has attacked this child, for whatever reason, we don't want another attack of that nature occurring."
The attack was just one of those "particularly bad things that just happen out of the blue", Mr Tarawhiti said. "It just shows that dogs can be unpredictable."
A Christchurch Hospital spokeswoman said the boy was in a comfortable state yesterday. His family declined to speak to the Herald.
Last month Christchurch man Robert John Lees was ordered to pay $3500 to the family of a young girl mauled by his pet dog.
Aotea Coxon, now aged 3, was bitten on the face and suffered cuts that required 290 stitches, a broken jaw and lost several teeth.
