Frenzied dogs close to tearing boy apart says modest rescuer

By JO-MARIE BROWN AND NZPA

The man who saved an 8-year-old boy from being torn to pieces by two dogs in a Rotorua park says the child could have died in the frenzied attack.

The boy's shredded clothing, covered in blood and scattered over a 17m-wide area, was found by police in Linton Park yesterday.

Constable Sunny Peeters said the boy, who received about 200 stitches, was in a stable condition in Waikato Hospital but could have been killed if the man had not intervened.

The boy's rescuer, Brian, who did not want his full name used, said he was gardening around 10 am on Sunday when two boys rode their bikes out of the park and told him they had heard screams and dogs barking.

He thought the boys had overactive imaginations but he investigated and saw a bull mastiff and German shepherd tearing at the boy's arms and legs.

"The dogs were frenzied," said Brian.

"One had him around the legs and was attacking his groin while the other had him by his arms. They were certainly letting him have it."

After scaring the dogs off with a tree branch, Brian carried the naked, bleeding boy to his father's house across the park.

"He was so brave for the injuries he had suffered. Even though he was in shock he was quite clear in his mind."

Brian said the boy had seen the dogs coming towards him and had started to run.

"Obviously the dogs just ran him down and jumped on him. If those two boys hadn't asked me to go and look he would have died."

Police shot one of the dogs at the scene but were yesterday still searching for the German shepherd and the dogs' owners.

Constable Peeters said the dogs probably came from the same household or lived close to each other.

He asked the owners to come forward.

"It's not a witch hunt. It's more of a public concern. We've got a boy in hospital who's seriously injured and we need the help of the owners."

The boy's mother wants the owners of the "killer dogs" to be brought to justice.

"Those dogs just about killed my son ... A few more minutes and my baby would have been dead ... It's a miracle he was saved," said the woman, who did not wish to be identified.

Her son suffered extensive wounds to his upper legs, buttocks, groin and arms, and puncture wounds to his neck.

He was taken to Rotorua Hospital and flown from there to Waikato Hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Health Waikato spokeswoman Karen Bennett said the boy had been moved out of intensive care and was in a stable condition after emergency surgery. His mother, who was at church when told about the attack, said: "He's a battler ... He's going to make it."



She travelled to Hamilton yesterday to join the boy's father at their son's bedside.

Animal control supervisor Peter Richardson said the attack was the worst Rotorua District Council animal control officers had seen.

He did not attend the incident but said he was told by staff that the boy "would have been torn to bits" if someone had not beaten the dogs off.

"I've seen a lot of dog bites around here, but nothing on this level in Rotorua."