Honey back with family after being stabbed in back

A dog that fled after being stabbed in a backyard attack is now back with her family.

Honey, a 10-month-old red-nosed pit bull cross, had a knife thrust into her back last Saturday night. Two women were also hurt in the Flaxmere incident.

The dog's owner told Hawke's Bay Today she had been at home with her three eldest children on Saturday night. Everything was fine until she heard the dog "screaming" outside. The owner, who asked not to be named, was shocked when the dog ran over to her with a knife in its back. She pulled the knife out of its back before the dog "took off".

Her partner found the dog and heard air come out of her wound as she lifted the dog into the car.

Honey was taken to Veterinary Associates in Hastings.

Her owner was in tears when Honey suffered a punctured lung.

"I've had her since she was three months old. She's like one of our kids."

She feared the dog "wouldn't make it".

But the dog, who wasn't eating while at the vets, was pleased to come home.

"When we picked her up she [saw] us and started wagging her tail and trying to get out of the cage." The dog was still quite shaken and on antibiotics. The woman said Honey was very loyal to their family, especially their kids.

"She is our bodyguard and more or less our furry baby."

Police later charged a Latvian national relating to the incident. He entered no plea in a hospital bed hearing this week to ill-treating an animal under the Animal Welfare Act 1999. He was also charged with two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to the two women hurt. He was remanded in custody until March 15.