Christchurch dog attack: American Bulldog cross dogs destroyed after Bryndwr father, son mauled

Two dogs that attacked and seriously injured a father and the teenage son he was trying to save have been destroyed.

The American Bulldog cross dogs are understood to have left the father with critical injuries after he was bitten on the neck, while his son has serious injuries after the horror attack in Bryndwr, Christchurch on Saturday.

The dogs’ owner received minor injuries in the bloody attack, which occurred when the father and son were visiting a friend at a Bevin Place home.

A neighbour earlier told the Herald she rushed outside after hearing the attack.

“[The father] lay bleeding right there,” she said, pointing to her driveway where evidence of the attack was visible.

She knew the dogs’ owners and they’d never had any trouble with the animals.

“They’re respectful. They’re not just dogs, they’re like children. They’re treated as part of the family.”

Police confirmed a 40-year-old woman had been summonsed to appear in court under the Dog Control Act.

There’d been no previous complaints about the now-impounded dogs, the council said in a statement soon after the attack.

The council confirmed this morning the dogs had been destroyed.

The attack was tragic, Fendalton councillor David Cartwright said, and he was thinking of everyone involved, from the victims to the first responders.

“It’s a disastrous, tragic event.”

Christchurch hadn’t seen many recent serious dog attacks as far as he was aware, and the council’s dog bylaw was regularly reviewed.

Cartwright said he would ask staff to look at the bylaws to ensure they were fit for purpose.

The incident came just days after 62-year-old Mihiata Te Rore was killed in an attack involving three dogs at a Kaihu property on State Highway 12 in Northland.

Te Rore was visiting someone she knew in the Kaipara settlement.

Kaipara District Council has confirmed the dogs will be destroyed.