Niki Phillips' 8-year-old son was taken to hospital with facial injuries after being attacked in Sunnynook on Auckland's North Shore on February 5.
The child, who Phillips' asked we not name, was bitten on the Tonkin Drive side of Sunnynook Park at about 3.30pm.
Phillips said his son's cheek was "ripped open" and he had a cut above his eyebrow, a hole in his lip and a puncture wound below his eye.
"There was just blood everywhere, his whole face was covered."
There were about 20 to 30 children in the playground when it happened, Phillips said.
"It's a busy park but now there's no-one there in the morning or after school. It hasn't just affected us, it's affected everyone who uses that park."
Police, animal control and an ambulance all attended the incident.
An Auckland Council spokeswoman said the dog and its owner were familiar to the victim.
The victim bent down to pat the dog and was bitten.
The dog was secured by its owner and handed over to an animal management officer.
It was not suitable to be rehomed and was put down on February 10, the spokeswoman said.
The dog was a female, desexed bull mastiff that was almost 2 years old.
It was registered and had been originally rehomed to the owner from the SPCA.
The council spokeswoman said it is undecided if legal action will be taken against the owner as the case is still under investigation.
"Once this is completed, a decision will be made."
The dog was not on a leash when it attacked the child.
Phillips said the surgeons did an amazing job on his son's face but it took five days for him to want to leave the house.
"He wouldn't even go outside. We went to the supermarket and he was walking around with his hoodie on, trying to hide his face."
Phillips also has a 10-year-old son who he said has always been wary of dogs but his fear is now worse.
He saw a woman get out of her car with two large dogs when his family visited Sherwood Reserve in Browns Bay and turned around to see his son had climbed to the highest part of the playground to get away from them.
Phillips said public places are for everyone to use.
"I get that dogs have to be exercised but it shouldn't be at the expense of everyone else using these shared spaces because not everyone likes dogs."
The dog access rules for beaches are clear but the ones for parks are confusing and seem to be self-governing, Phillips said.
"The biggest problem is that it seems to be up to the individual dog owners.
"Most say 'my dog's not like that'. They might know it's not like that but other people don't."
Dogs are allowed off-leash in Sunnynook Park but must be under control.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chairman Mike Cohen said responsible dog owners should tell off others who are not obeying the rules.
He said the dog access bylaws are clear.
"The critical thing is actually understanding what under control means."
Irresponsible dog owners are doing a disservice to others who do all the right things, Cohen said.
"Even if you have the most stringent rules you need a means of enforcing them.
"So it's still back to putting pressure on dog owners to tell those who are a bit wayward that they're not playing for the team."
Changing the dog access bylaws is a complicated process but they do come up for review and can change, Cohen said.
"It's like any privilege, if you abuse it you lose it."
(Stuff NZ - Feb 17, 2015)
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