The dogs, pictured here on settlement road in Kaiwaka, on the road the day they attacked two people. Photo / Nathan Pilkington
A woman enjoying the sunshine ended up being flown to hospital after four dogs set upon her, attacking her arms and legs.
Then, when a neighbour tried to intervene the dogs turned on him, resulting in him also being sent to hospital with bite marks across his legs.
But, despite both victims suffering injuries, a judge has recognised Stacey Walker-Haturini’s struggles and spared her from jail.
The 39-year-old woman appeared in the Whangārei District Court recently for sentencing on four charges of owning a dog that caused injury.
On March 15, 2025, Walker-Haturini was in Kaitāia when her ex-partner allegedly let one of their four dogs out of their property on Settlement Rd in Kaiwaka.
The man left and the dog was roaming when it saw a woman on her front lawn with her own two dogs, Blue and Roxy.
Blue ran over to the gate and got into a fight with Walker-Haturini’s dog. Three more of Walker-Haturini’s dogs came to the fence line and began barking and jumping at the victim.
She yelled at the dogs to go home and approached the gate to let the first one out, but it bit her on the left hand.
The three other dogs managed to get out under the fence and all four began lunging and attacking the woman.
The victim managed to get the dogs off by kicking and yelling and eventually got them out of the gate.
Another neighbour ran to assist her but the dogs turned on him and he was also injured.
The woman, who was in shock and bleeding from her arms and legs, had to be airlifted by helicopter to Whangārei Hospital for treatment while the man was transported in an ambulance.
Meanwhile, Walker-Haturini, the registered owner of the dogs, heard they had got out and immediately began making her way back from Kaitāia.
She called the Kaipara District Council and said her dogs were out and asked if they could make their way to the property and lock them up.
When she arrived home four hours later, she assisted in catching one of the dogs council workers were unable to restrain.
The court heard that at the time, Walker-Haturini was in the midst of a messy break-up, dealing with a death in the family and a sick grandfather who was in hospital.
“It was just bang, bang, bang, one thing after another,” she told Judge Peter Davey.
Nathan Pilkington, the victim who assisted, told NZME the dog attack left him with several scars and an ongoing ligament injury.
“It has stopped me from doing things I’d normally enjoy - the gym, jiu-jitsu, and simple day-to-day movement.
“There was also a real sense of disappointment in the lack of empathy or accountability shown by the dog owners, right up until sentencing,” Pilkington said.
“The neighbourhood has been deeply affected too. People are now visibly on edge when they see unfamiliar dogs in public, something that never used to be the case.”
Kaipara council’s lawyer Jodi Libbey said the council and one of the complainants were both taking an empathetic approach to Walker-Haturini and were in favour of a light sentence.
She said one victim had advised the council she did not want Walker-Haturini to be fined, which, given the injuries, would have been a sizeable figure.
Libbey also acknowledged Walker-Haturini had willingly agreed to euthanise the dogs but noted further repercussions could follow.
“The council, upon convictions, can decide whether they disqualify her as a dog owner going forward.”
Walker-Haturini’s lawyer Jody Garrett said it was accepted she was the registered owner of dogs that caused injury but the aggravating features were nothing to do with his client.
“When she discovered the dogs had been released... she was distraught, rang the council saying the dog went missing and immediately upon what had occurred, she was concerned for the dogs,” Garrett said.
“She’s not the one that released the dogs.”
As Judge Davey delivered his summation, Walker-Haturini wept in the dock, noting she had heard the summary of facts repeated at every court appearance.
“I know it’s hard to hear this,” Judge Davey said.
The judge said given Walker-Haturini was not at the address when the dogs were let out, her blameworthiness was reduced.
“Ordinarily, my starting point would have been a sentence of imprisonment.
“Recognising the fact this was a serious attack and caused serious injury but this was a situation where your culpability is towards the bottom end of the scale.”
Walker-Haturini was sentenced to 180 hours’ community work.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.