New Zealand: Hunting dogs savage cyclist
A teenage cyclist savaged by a pack of hunting dogs was saved by a passing driver who pulled him to safety in her car.
The 13-year-old boy, who has not been named, suffered horrific injuries from more than 100 bites in the attack in New Zealand.
The four pitbull-greyhound crossbreeds, used to hunt wild pigs, escaped from their owner’s garden and attacked the boy as he rode past in the town of Waitoa, North Island.
“The owner of the dogs tried to pull (them) off the child. He tried his best, but he couldn’t keep all four dogs off,” police chief Rod Smart said.
Driver Jenny Robinson said she was frightened of the dogs “but then when I saw the boy I just jumped out and my main concern was just the boy.”
She pulled him into her vehicle as they continued snapping at him. “I was absolutely terrified, but that’s the thing at the time, you just do,” she said.
A hospital spokeswoman said surgeons operated on the boy for six hours.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such extensive injuries,” she said.
A woman and a man have died in separate dogs attacks in recent years and several children have been badly mauled.
New Zealand dog control laws have been stiffened to require the destruction of animals involved.
The dogs were put down.
