Good turn earns police dog bite

Kevin Oglesby's arm and hand were bitten while he was in his own backyard. Photo / Dean Purcell

A man who went to check on a burglary at his neighbour's house was attacked by a police dog, which bit through a nerve in his little finger.

Papatoetoe resident Kevin Oglesby heard an alarm go off two doors down and wandered down Kautami Ave to check before heading back home to check his own property.

Hunting around his backyard, he suddenly felt "a presence" and heard a rustle - before turning to see a German shepherd bearing down on him.

"I saw the dog so I just stood still," the 44-year-old warehouse assistant told the Weekend Herald. "I've seen enough TV to know not to run or move or anything like that."

The dog had come over the fence, with its lead trailing and handler right behind, and launched itself upon Mr Oglesby.

"He [the handler] was going, 'Release, release, release!' and it wasn't until he got his hands around the dog's neck that the dog actually released and he physically pulled him off me."

The dog latched onto Mr Oglesby's left arm, severing a nerve in his little finger and puncturing his arm in several places.

"I just stood there watching and watched it sinking its teeth in and out ... I may be only a little fella but I've got quite a high threshold of pain."

He was taken to Middlemore Hospital, where surgeons reattached the finger nerve.

Mr Oglesby contacted the Weekend Herald after reading about a police dog attacking a lawnmowing contractor who was trying to help officers track the 14-year-old driver of a stolen car in Avondale on Thursday.

"I heard about that and I thought, 'How many other attacks have there been where people haven't gone to the media?"'

But Inspector Mark Hall of the Auckland dog section said three in four months was very unusual.

"That is about typical of what we would get in a year."

Mr Hall said that did not excuse the attacks, but there had been about 7700 police-dog deployments in the past year.

He said the dog had tracked Mr Oglesby's scent back from the burglary scene, as it was trained to do.

Dog and handler had been stood down, as was standard procedure, until proven fit for duty.

Mr Oglesby said police had apologised and he bore no ill will.

"We do need those dogs on the street to do the job."

POLICE DOG BLUES
26 Feb - Brett Abraham, 63, mistakenly attacked while chasing an intruder from his Epsom home on a bike. Has two hours of surgery in Auckland City Hospital to fix wounds on left upper thigh and lower leg.

20 May - Lawnmowing contractor bitten on left leg while helping police chase 14-year-old driver of stolen car, after a pursuit that ended in three-car pile-up in Rosebank Rd, Avondale. He is stitched and discharged from Middlemore Hospital on the same day.