Dog terrorising North Shore suburb evades capture

File photo / NZ Herald

A dog which terrorised the suburb of Devonport on Monday continues to evade capture.

Residents of the North Shore suburb were warned to be wary of a stray pitbull-cross after it bit three people, including a child.

The spate of attacks started when the dog latched onto the sleeve of a man on Monday morning as he left the toilets in Bayswater Park.

The man was already recovering from a dislocated shoulder, and as he yanked his arm away from the dog he re-dislocated it. He yelled at the dog and it ran away.

About an hour later as another man left the toilets, the dog bit him on the foot, police said.

Fortunately the man was wearing steel-capped boots and was uninjured.

Not long afterwards, an 8-year-old boy who was playing tag with this friends was bitten on the calf.

He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff for puncture wounds and was taken to the doctor by his family to receive a tetanus shot.

Police and Auckland Council Animal Control officers attempted to catch the dog, but it ran into a large cemetery area surrounded by mangroves and hasn't been seen since.

It was described as tan-coloured with a cream chest, tan and cream markings on the head.

Auckland Council spokesman Glyn Walters today said they hadn't received any sightings of the dog, or further reports of it attacking people.

It had seemingly disappeared, he said."The good news is that it hasn't bitten anybody else.''

Enquiries with the owners of several dogs in the area which fit the dog's description had ruled out their animals being involved.