The dog belongs to the victim's sister who is accused of attacking her with the dog joining in.
Kawerau woman Liz Smith, 52, was visiting her sister at her Welcome Bay home when the dog attack happened early Saturday.
Her sister Phillipa Bayley, 54, appeared in Tauranga District Court yesterday over the incident.
Ms Smith alleges her sister attacked her about 2am after they had spent the night discussing "issues".
The dog joined in and Ms Smith estimates it attacked her for 20 minutes before police arrived. She suspects a neighbour heard the noise and called for help.
Ms Smith said the dog tore at her scalp, ears, nose and lips.
She was taken to Tauranga Hospital and has undergone surgery.
"It was not going to stop, I begged her 'get the dog off me'," Ms Smith said.
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| Can you see that this pit bull isn't even that big compared to other pit bulls? The damage inflicted by such a slight dog is incredible |
"I don't know how I'm going to get it out of my head when I go to sleep at night," she said. "I'm very lucky to have survived this."
Ms Smith wanted to speak out about the attack so the public knew "these dogs don't stop".
Because the dog was only a puppy she believed claims the breed was trained to attack were untrue.
"I think this will help to prove that it's actually in the breed," she said.
Previously the dog had been sitting on Ms Smith's knee.
"Half an hour before that, I'd been patting the dog," she said.
Ms Smith said she haemorrhaged during surgery to repair her face and scalp.
She was discharged from Tauranga Hospital yesterday afternoon and said she wanted to thank the staff for their compassion and care.
In court yesterday, Ms Smith's sister faced a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Standing in the dock dressed in blue police-assigned overalls, she was remanded on bail without plea and is due back in court on June 3.
Community magistrate Robyn Paterson granted Bayley bail subject to conditions including a ban on consuming alcohol and non-prescribed drugs and entering licensed premises, except supermarkets.
Mrs Paterson also banned Bayley from having control of any dog.
Bayley is also barred from having any contact with her sister and entering Kawerau township.
Tauranga City Council animal services team leader Brent Lincoln said american pit bull terriers were the biggest biters, accounting for 18 per cent of attacks yet constituting just 1 per cent of the Tauranga dog population.
In the Western Bay in April last year, an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) inflicted leg wounds so serious that the victim needed 10 days in hospital and plastic surgery.
(Bay of Plenty Times - May 24, 2011)
