Pit bull attacks Whanganui midwife on home visit

Dog owner says midwife should not have entered property. Photo / File

The owner of a pit bull-terrier that bloodily attacked a Whanganui midwife on a home visit is being prosecuted.

Dog owner Tremaine Turanga Reweti, pleaded guilty in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday to owning a dog that attacked a person.

Police said the midwife turned up on May 6 at the home where her client and her brother, Reweti, lived.

"The midwife had visited the house several times before but the dog was always chained up. She had previously texted her patient to say she was coming but got no reply."

"She opened the front gate to knock on the door but as she approached the front door the dog attacked her."

The dog bit her on the upper left thigh and on her left forearm before Reweti heard yelling and came outside to grab the dog he called Kaos.

Reweti's family looked after the victim until she could be taken to hospital where she was treated for the bites.

"The most serious injuries were a 8cm-long tear wound and a 3cm-long puncture wound to her arm, along with bruising and crushed tissue," the police summary of facts said.

While in hospital, the midwife rang the dog control team and Kaos was seized and impounded.

When Reweti was spoken to by dog control staff, he said the victim should not have come onto his property without telling him she was coming.

Reweti will be sentenced at a later date. Reparation is being sought for legal fees, pound costs, and emotional harm. -Wanganui Chronicle