Woman was attacked by the dog when she went to a friend's property to pick feijoas. Photo / Supplied
Woman was attacked by the dog when she went to a friend's property to pick feijoas. Photo / Supplied
An Auckland woman who was attacked by a dog that bit her without warning is furious that the animal hasn't been put down and the owner fined just $200.
Grace Xie, an accountant in her 50s, was with a friend picking feijoas at a property in Mount Roskill on April 26 when the attack happened.
"The tree was at the far corner of the property owned by my friend's relative, and we had to pass a room to get there," she said.
"When my friend opened the door to the room, the dog ran out and without barking or any warning just came and attacked me."
Xie said the "big brown dog" bit her on the arm and leg, which left her bleeding and injured in four areas of her limbs.
Xie said the man was the dog owner's boyfriend, who apologised for what happened and took her to the Three Kings Medical Centre.
The medical bills were paid for by the dog's owner, Xie said, but they refused to compensate her for the four days that she couldn't work saying ACC would cover that.
Grace Xie said she could not work for four days after the attack. Photo / Supplied
Xie was later told in an email by an Auckland Council senior animal management officer that the owner would be slapped with a $200 fine for failure to control the dog.
"The dog was also classified as menacing by deed, meaning that it must be microchipped, desexed and must wear a muzzle when out in public," the officer wrote.
"We spoke about getting training for the dog ... we educate and suggest to the owner to get training but we cannot legally require them to go at this point."
The officer said factors that were taken into account were what happened, how it happened, how serious was the incident and injury, and past history of the dog and its owners.
"In this case, it was decided to issue a fine of $200 to the dog owner for failure to control their dog," she said.
Xie said she was "really angry" and described the Council's decision as "nonsense".
"I am an adult, but can you imagine if this happened to a child, it would be disastrous. This dog is a dangerous animal and I was expecting it to be put down, or at least sent for proper training," she said.
"Why do we have rules when the council doesn't even have the power to legally impose them. The laws are so soft, and that is why dog attacks continue to happen because owners are getting away with them."
Xie said although she has fully recovered, the scars were still there.
Auckland Council has been approached for further comments.
In an email update, Xie was told by another animal management officer that she could claim compensation from the dog owner through the Disputes tribunal as a civil claim.
