The fate of the third dog, held at the council pound, awaits a court case following charges of "dog attacks to a person causing serious injury" laid against two owners.
Figures released to Hawke's Bay Today under the Official Information Act revealed 105 cases were brought before Hawke's Bay district courts between July 2010 and June 30 this year.
Thirty nine of the charges resulted in dog destruction orders.
Under the Dog Control Act 1996, all dogs are required to be registered, microchipped, kept under control and looked after. Some breeds are illegal to import.
Fees, penalties and dogs classified as dangerous are overseen by councils, but criminal action can also be taken through the courts.
Meanwhile, ACC figures revealed 864 dog-related injury claims were made in Hawke's Bay in the last financial year. The claims, which were worth $591,724, included all injuries involving dogs, not just attacks.
Napier Dog Training Club "Canine Good Citizen" manager Helen Lovejoy believed there were plenty more unreported cases.
"People often don't want to report a dog attack, because it's their family pet or their friend or neighbour's pet," she said.
"Then there are cases where people know which dog has attacked and who the owner is and dog control probably know about the dog, but there's nothing they can do about it unless it can be proven."
Canine Good Citizen is a New Zealand Kennel Club programme which trains and tests dogs for everyday situations.
Ms Lovejoy believed some breeds were more likely to attack but said ultimately it came down to owner responsibility.
"Pit bulls, for example. By law, pit bulls have to be muzzled. There's a stigma with muzzles but it has to be done, because it makes things safer for everyone.
"But then they say labradors bite the most people, but that's probably because they're most popular.
"In any case, dogs need to be socialised from a young age and controlled when they're in public places.
"If you want to pat someone else's dog, make sure to ask the owner first."
Nationally, more than 2500 charges were made under the Dog Control Act in the past five years. Just over 350 dog destruction orders were granted in that time.
Labour's local government spokesman Su'a William Sio said current laws were failing to protect New Zealanders.
But associate local government minister Louise Upston said an assessment of the country's dog-control laws by the Department of Internal Affairs last year found no need for change.
"The conclusions were that New Zealand is not markedly out of step with other similar countries and further changes to dog-control regulations would not necessarily better protect people from harm," she said
