Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

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

By Belinda Feek
Reporter·NZ Herald·
7 Nov, 2018 05:54 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The attack occurred in the town of Te Kaha in eastern Bay of Plenty on Friday. Photo / Google

The attack occurred in the town of Te Kaha in eastern Bay of Plenty on Friday. Photo / Google

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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.

Discover more

New Zealand

Woman attacked by dogs in critical but stable condition

08 Nov 12:16 AM

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Merry hell' in Mamaku: Village held 'to ransom' by hoons

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM

The North Island is expected to get off to a wet start this morning, with lingering rain.

'Merry hell' in Mamaku: Village held 'to ransom' by hoons

'Merry hell' in Mamaku: Village held 'to ransom' by hoons

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP