Opotiki woman, 60, critical after attack by three dogs in Te Kaha

Three dogs have attacked an Opotiki woman, leaving her battling critical injuries.

The dogs belonged to her brother and left cuts to her head, neck, abdomen and legs.

The attack occurred in the town of Te Kaha, in eastern Bay of Plenty, on Friday.

The woman was airlifted from the town to Tauranga Hospital by the Tauranga Trustpower Rescue Helicopter.

A hospital spokeswoman today said the 60-year-old was in a critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit.

Opotiki mayor John Forbes described the attack as "vicious".

He said the dogs lived on the same property as the victim.

"I think they're from the house where she lived. She lived at the house with some of her family, that's my understanding.

Forbes said he had serious concerns for the woman's prognosis.

"I think the dog attack was brutal."

He believed only one of the dogs was properly registered.

All three dogs are currently in council custody, he said.

He said there were quite a few dogs in the "little cluster of houses" where the woman lived.

"I saw one trotting along the street the other day and it was all mouth and teeth."

He said the council wasn't lax in its approach to dealing with dangerous dogs and since he'd been in office the council had offered free neutering and desexing initiatives but they seemed to prove fruitless.

"Its not like we sit and wait for something like this to happen."

Council staff had also euthanised a large number of dangerous dogs but they just kept reappearing.

"We've got different dogs than what we used to have. At one time it was cocker spaniels and they can nip too but it's the pitbull bloodlines and whatever that dog is from South America ... some of those bloodlines that are getting bred into our dog populations, I think we're getting dogs that are more difficult to manage than what we used to have.

"So we need to make sure that we don't just say 'oh there's another dog attack' that's not good enough from a community perspective."

A police spokesperson confirmed they received a report of a dog attack in Te Kaha at 12.37pm on Friday.

The attack comes after an autistic man suffered extensive injuries after being mauled by two rottweilers in Winton in July.

He managed to escape any further serious injury thanks to the thick jeans he was wearing.

Oliver Beaumont's attack lasted about five minutes after being approached by the dogs while walking near his family's home on Great North Rd.

He suffered extensive bite marks to his face when he was set upon by two fully grown rottweilers, one male and one female.

In 2013, Rosedale woman Chloe Jane Matthewson was visiting a Redvale property on Rodeo Drive when she was attacked and killed by two dogs.

Police said at the time the 31-year-old was mauled by two large rottweilers and she suffered "horrific injuries" in the attack.