NEW ZEALAND -- A heavily pregnant Rotorua woman threw herself on her pet American bulldog as it attacked a young girl, helping prevent more serious injuries, the mother of the victim says.
The pregnant woman, who did not want to be named, said she did not think twice before trying to stop the attack as the one-year-old dog, Riley, lunged at Stevie-Rebecca Shipgood, 9, at a skatepark in Te Ngae Road on Sunday.
The woman and her husband live next door to Stevie's parents, Lisa Maunder and Gary Shipgood.
The pregnant woman, who did not want to be named, said she did not think twice before trying to stop the attack as the one-year-old dog, Riley, lunged at Stevie-Rebecca Shipgood, 9, at a skatepark in Te Ngae Road on Sunday.
The woman and her husband live next door to Stevie's parents, Lisa Maunder and Gary Shipgood.
 |
| Stevie-Rebecca Shipgood, 9, at home with her mother |
"I was only thinking about helping Stevie," the woman said. "I tried to get him off her ... I threw myself on him to cover her.
"I wasn't scared of what would happen ... I was just shocked he attacked her."
The attack was the sixth of its kind in four weeks and followed the mauling of an 18-month-old Porirua girl on Saturday, prompting Local Government Minister Nick Smith to pledge to kick-start a stalled investigation into laws governing dangerous dogs.
The girl, who was attacked by her family's pit bull- staffordshire cross, has been discharged from hospital after extensive plastic surgery.
Paperwork to destroy the dog was signed by the girl's mother yesterday.
In Rotorua, Stevie suffered serious injuries from the dog bites, including 20 stitches to a head wound, and deep bites and bruising to her right forearm, which is swathed in bandages.
The young girl was resting at her Owhata home yesterday after being discharged from Rotorua Hospital.
"The dog kept jumping up at me and trying to bite me when I was playing with a ball," Stevie said. "I'm only afraid of big dogs. I don't want to see this one again."
Maunder said she had taken a group of young children, including Stevie, across the road to play near the skatepark before she went back to her house. The dog was not at the park at that stage.
About 30 minutes later the dog was brought to the park on a leash by the woman owner.
"They probably needed more education on how to handle the dog around children - perhaps have it muzzled," Maunder said.
"We feel for them that they will have to put the dog down but it could attack another child."
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister John Key said the dog attacks were distressing for victims and their families.
The Government would look at legislation around the issue but it was not as simple as just banning certain breeds.
The pregnant woman's husband, who also did not want to be named, said he would have the dog destroyed.
It often played with his own children and had not acted aggressively before.
"You think that you know your dog but you really don't."
A 3-year-old boy seriously injured by a dog bite last Wednesday was critical but stable in Starship children's hospital last night. The boy was bitten on the throat by a relative's dog at an Ashburton house as he ate chocolate.
(TVNZ - Jan 24, 2012)
