Suz Guet eight months after three dogs mauled her on Sunset Rd. Inset: Some of her wounds. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Suz Guet eight months after three dogs mauled her on Sunset Rd. Inset: Some of her wounds. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Warning: Contains images and descriptions some may find distressing
Suz Guet was mauled by three unregistered dogs in Rotorua, leaving her with severe injuries.
Dog owner Joshua Dylan Fankhauser was sentenced to three months’ community detention and 100 hours of community work.
Guet fears ongoing danger as she continues to see roaming dogs in Rotorua.
Suz Guet looks down at her scarred arms and legs - a daily visible reminder of the afternoon eight months ago she was mauled by three unregistered roaming dogs.
The Rotorua woman hasn’t been able to walk alone in publicsince.
When she does go for walks, it’s always with others and she carries ground pepper in her hands, pockets and bag - just in case the unthinkable happens again.
Suz Guet's arm was mauled by a pack of dogs in September. Photo / Supplied
About 3pm on September 3, Guet was thrown to the ground and attacked by three dogs - one ripped flesh from her arm.
The dogs were owned by Rotorua man Joshua Dylan Fankhauser.
He pleaded guilty to nine charges laid under the Dog Control Act including three each of owning dogs causing serious injury, failing to register dogs and failing to keep a dog under control.
The first charge carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment or a $20,000 fine.
Suz Guet after the dog attack. Photo / Laura Smith
Guet said Fankhauser had paid her $2500 in reparation agreed during the restorative justice process prior to sentencing.
Judge John McDonald sentenced Fankhauser in the Rotorua District Court on April 8 to three months’ community detention and 100 hours of community work. Fankhauser was ordered to pay Guet $226.
It is Guet’s opinion, the punishment was “a bit of a nothing”.
Now she fears that despite coming within inches of her life, nothing much has changed - she still sees dogs roaming in Rotorua on a regular basis.
The dog attack
Court documents recently released to the Rotorua Daily Post detail what happened on the day Guet was attacked.
The three dogs were Boss - a male tan and white bull terrier cross, Smoke - a male black and white lockley cross, and Quartz - a female tan whippet cattle cross dog.
A summary of facts said Guet exited an alleyway on to Sunset Rd just before 3pm.
She saw a dog - Quartz - running in and out of traffic and yelled out to it to go home.
Suz Guet, who was attacked by three dogs in Rotorua. Photo / Laura Smith
Quartz ran behind Guet and latched on to her left arm just above her elbow, tearing a large amount of flesh from her arm.
Quartz continued lunging at Guet, biting her arms and legs several times.
The dog dragged Guet to the ground and tore her puffer jacket as Guet fought back with her bag.
Suz Guet's scars on her arms eight months after being attacked by three roaming dogs on Sunset Rd. Photo / Kelly Makiha
As she was lying on the footpath screaming for help, Boss and Smoke joined the attack.
Members of the public intervened and managed to scare the three dogs away.
Guet needed surgery for her wounds. She received 40 sutures, had 50cm of scarring and lost a litre of blood.
Fankhauser told police Quartz was a family dog and Boss and Smoke were hunting dogs. He was at work when the attack happened, and was called home by his partner.
The three dogs were destroyed following the attack.
Suz Guet still has significant scars on her arms and legs eight months after being attacked by three roaming dogs on Sunset Rd. Photo / Kelly Makiha
The impacts
Guet said she felt like prey being hunted and that the dogs would not have stopped if someone had not arrived.
She said a woman and two men helped her, and, to this day, she did not know who the two men were.
She said, in hindsight, she should have asked the court for more reparation money as she only asked enough to cover her medical bills and clothing.
“It’s not like I could put a money value on the emotional and physical trauma I endured, nor the seven weeks of recovery before being able to go back to work, nor the ongoing fear of walking in my neighbourhood.”
Guet said her independence had been stripped as she would now only walk with her husband and took her car to work, instead of walking.
On walks she carried a bag of ground pepper open and ready to throw at an attacking dog.
She also carried pepper in her handbag and jacket pockets.
She and Fankhauser met through the court restorative justice process.
While she felt he was sincere in his apology, she thought the process dampened down the severity of the offending.
Guet said she had to see a doctor in the following months regularly for one thing or another.
“My theory is my mind and body was focused solely on healing my arms and legs, and then when I finally got to a stage where I wanted to put it all behind me and give as little attention to my scars as possible, then bang! My nervous system hits me with shingles, telling me hey, the rest of my body suffered too, and needed an outlet for the trauma.”
She said she tried to remain positive and, despite her scars, she was happy she survived and, in some ways, that it happened to her and not someone else.
“If it was a child, I don’t think they would have survived.”
Clarification
The story has been updated to add that Fankhauser paid Guet $2500 in reparation agreed during restorative justice.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
