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

Pit bull mauls boy, two women

By Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
Rotorua Daily Post·
23 Sep, 2014 08:01 PM3 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

Paramedics take away people who were seriously injured in a pit bull attack on Neil Rd, in Koutu, yesterday. Photo / Stephen Parker

Paramedics take away people who were seriously injured in a pit bull attack on Neil Rd, in Koutu, yesterday. Photo / Stephen Parker

Three people have been injured - two seriously - after being attacked by a pit bull.

It is understood an 8-year-old boy went into the backyard of a property on Neil Rd in Koutu about 4.30pm yesterday after his ball went over a fence. He was then attacked by the registered pit bull dog.

A Rotorua District Council spokesperson said the facts were still to be confirmed but it was understood the boy climbed a fence to get into the property.

His mother, who is in her 20s, jumped over the fence to help and was also attacked by the dog.

The mother's friend, also in her 20s, then jumped the fence to help and was attacked too.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The spokesperson said there were no details of injuries at this stage but all three required treatment by St John Ambulance.

The council's animal-control officers have seized the pit bull as well as a second pit bull, which was not registered.

The property where the dogs were kept was fully fenced, the spokesperson said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

St John ambulance team manager Norm Ngatai said a call advising of the attack was received about 4.30pm. Two ambulances were sent "because of the multiple patients and potential severity" of the injuries. He said two people had serious injuries and a third had moderate injuries.

Mr Ngatai said the dog involved was a pit bull.

Police were also called the scene and they were armed.

A woman sitting in her car on Neil Rd said she was "deeply upset" by the event and it was a "tragedy" she had found distressing.

Discover more

Latest dog attack sparks warning

24 Sep 07:30 PM

The woman said her son, sitting in the passenger seat, was a witness to the event and "saved" one of the victims, but would not say more.

The woman's son looked to be aged in his teens.

A Neil Rd resident told the Rotorua Daily Post two dogs, one that looked like a pit bull, appeared at his house last Sunday.

He said he immediately grabbed an axe, went out and chased the dogs away.

"I was just doing the dishes and saw them coming up the driveway so I grabbed my axe. The only reason I bolted out the door was because it was a pitty."

The resident, who didn't want to be named, said he wasn't afraid to take such action but it was a worry for residents in the area, particularly as there were a lot of children who lived nearby.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There are tons of kids in our street and many of them play around the railway tracks across the road."

Rotorua police could not be contacted for comment.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua chef denies arson of his own home

19 Jun 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

How to celebrate Matariki in Rotorua

19 Jun 05:01 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

19 Jun 04:29 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua chef denies arson of his own home

Rotorua chef denies arson of his own home

19 Jun 06:00 AM

The fire took place around midnight and took firefighters three hours to control.

How to celebrate Matariki in Rotorua

How to celebrate Matariki in Rotorua

19 Jun 05:01 AM
Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

19 Jun 04:29 AM
Cold showers, decontamination for workers at scene of truck crash

Cold showers, decontamination for workers at scene of truck crash

19 Jun 04:15 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

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