A Tauranga man whose American pitbull terrier mastiff-cross attacked a male relative has been fined $500.
Thomas Tareha Taite, 47, pleaded guilty to a charge of being the owner of a dog which attacked a person and caused serious injury, when he appeared in the Tauranga District Court yesterday.
The charge related to an attack on a 64-year-old man visiting Taite's Kairua Rd property unexpectedly on March 30.
While Taite was inside getting food for the family pet, named Wolf, the dog latched on to the victim's left leg, causing deep bite marks, then bit the man's right leg, causing 30mm puncture wounds.
The victim drove to Tauranga Hospital for treatment.
Judge Barney Thomas ordered the dog to be destroyed and fined Taite $500, to be paid to the victim by way of an emotional harm payment.
Arron James Kohu, 42, also appeared in the court yesterday and denied a charge of being the owner of dog which attacked another person, after his 3-year-old nephew was bitten on the face. Police say the attack, which happened while the boy was visiting Kohu's Waikari Rd, Matapihi, property on March 27, resulted in a 6cm gash under the boy's right eye.
But Kohu pleaded guilty to one charge each of possession of cannabis for supply, cultivation of cannabis, selling cannabis and assaulting police.
The cannabis offences were uncovered on April 4, when police searched the Matapihi property where Kohu lived in a sleepout. When police arrived with a search warrant, Kohu refused to come out and when he did he continued to yell abuse and would not co-operate. One officer managed to get a handcuff on Kohu but during the ensuing struggle Kohu punched an officer on the nose.
In Kohu's sleepout, police located items including 750 grams of dried cannabis head, about 100 grams of cannabis head, and one large cannabis tinnie. Also found was $1600 in cash and four cannabis plants.
Kohu asked to be re-admitted to bail pending sentencing on June 24.
But Judge Thomas refused, saying given Kohu's previous convictions for cannabis cultivation he "knew the drill" and a prison sentence was inevitable.