By ROSALEEN MACBRAYNE
An 8-year-old boy attacked by two dogs while playing in a park will need at least 200 stitches.
A man living near the Rotorua park heard the boy's screams and came to his aid, fighting off the German shepherd and Rhodesian ridgeback with a stick.
The boy was flown by
rescue helicopter to Waikato Hospital with serious groin, leg and arm injuries.
Late last night, he was still on the operating table.
The mauling was so fierce that his clothes were ripped off.
The attack happened late yesterday morning on an old BMX track near bush at Linton Park, not far from the boy's home in Deborah Place.
His rescuer, who was not willing to be identified, said last night that he had "done his bit."
He had heard screaming and was alerted by two other children. He scooped up the bleeding and naked boy and ran home with him to call an ambulance.
Police found the dogs, both without collars and apparently unregistered, in a nearby street. They shot the ridgeback, but the German shepherd escaped and was still being hunted last night.
The boy's father was with him in Hamilton last night, where the hospital described his condition as serious but stable.
The St John Rotorua area manager, Cath Shannon, was one of the paramedics who accompanied the boy on the Fletcher Challenge Forests rescue helicopter to Waikato Hospital.
He was incredibly brave, she said.
When she left, hospital staff were still assessing how much internal damage there was and what surgery the boy would need.
One of his worst injuries was to his right arm, and he had lacerations over his torso.
"It was very traumatising. We were blown away with how brave he was."
Cath Shannon said the ambulance crew, all dog lovers, were disgusted that such dangerous animals were running loose.
Senior Sergeant Mike Wright of Rotorua said it was estimated that the boy would need at least 200 stitches.
