Brutal dog attack: 'He saved my life, no doubt'

Michelle Lovett poses for photos with Tumanako Pairama, the man who saved her when her own dog attacked her. Photo / Christine Cornege

A Hamilton woman who was mauled by her own dog is praising the bravery of a passing stranger who she says saved her life.

Michelle Lovett says Tumanako Pairama risked his own life last week by scaling a six-foot fence and beating her pitbull off with a broom handle.

She is certain the 31-year-old father of three saved her life and believes he deserves
some kind of official recognition.

"I can't thank him enough for what he did; he saved my life, no doubt and I think he deserves a medal. There was no-one else around to help but him."

Ms Lovett, 31, was cleaning her car when her dog Detroit began growling at passers-by and running along the fence line barking.

She tried to put the dog inside her home when the 6-year-old pitbull, that she had raised since it was born at the Avalon Drive house, attacked her.

The dog latched on to her and began "tearing" at her.

"I can't remember much of it but I do remember having a bit of a struggle with him and I tried to get into the car and get him off of me but he was too strong."

Her last memories before she awoke in hospital later that day were of a woman's voice saying "get him, babe, get him".

The voice belonged to Mr Pairama's partner. The pair had been walking to their Dinsdale home from a doctor's appointment.

"I heard Michelle screaming 'help, help, get this dog off me!'. I walked up to the gate and just froze, I was in shock myself because I hadn't seen a dog do that to humans before, I've seen them do it to pigs," Mr Pairama said.

After the initial shock, he jumped Ms Lovett's fence and scanned the yard for a weapon, finding a broomstick on the doorstep.

"She was getting ripped, I just looked around and saw a broom handle and grabbed it. I walked up to it and 'bang' - the first hit the dog let go. It looked at me and I hit it again, it came through again and I hit him again and it was out."

"I carried on hitting him while he was on the ground."

Mr Pairama, a fencer, then removed his shirt to wrap Ms Lovett's arm in it; "you could see the flesh hanging off of it" before be placed her in her car.

The dog eventually came to, but Mr Pairama yelled at it telling it "get the f*** inside the house".

The dog obeyed and an ambulance arrived not long after.

Speaking to the Herald at Ms Lovett's home today, Mr Pairama said he didn't consider himself a hero despite his actions.

"I consider myself to be just a person who was helping another person in need. I would hope that if another person saw this they would have done the same thing."

Ms Lovett needed multiple stitches in her left leg, arm and hand, and required skin grafts. She will need physiotherapy and other medical care for some time.

The dog was euthanised this morning after Hamilton City Council Animal Control staff removed it from her property.

Kelvin Powell, Hamilton City Council's City Safe Manager, said the council would not pursue charges under the Dog Control Act after Ms Lovett agreed the dog was to be put down.

Ms Lovett said that she would "eventually" get another dog.