Her neighbour then ran to help her. He used a belt as a tourniquet to stop her bleeding.
And then the dogs came back and attacked him.
He was treated by Hato Hone St John Ambulance paramedics and she was flown to Whangārei Hospital by the Northland Rescue Helicopter.
The woman’s sister, who asked nobody’s name be published out of fear of reprisals from the dogs’ owners, said she had multiple puncture wounds and parts of her body had flesh torn away.
“Her wrist is mangled, her whole back of her leg is severely hematomaed [bruised] and punctured, so they could only stitch up a quarter of the wounds because of the risk for infection,” her sister told the Herald.
“It’s early days. She is up and about, but still on morphine and things.
“The family is really, really thankful to [the neighbour] for coming over to her. What a brave man he was.”
Hato Hone St John Ambulance said it responded to the incident, but would not comment given it was on private property. Police said they were called just after 10am, but did not attend, telling the caller to contact animal control.
Kaipara District Council’s animal control officers saw the four unsecured dogs and identified them as the offending animals, a spokeswoman said.
“The team impounded the dogs the same day,” and an investigation was launched, she said.
‘They still didn’t act’: Town slates animal control
The woman’s sister said the small settlement had regularly complained of vicious and roaming dogs, but claimed animal control “still didn’t act”. She said there had been other attacks in the past, and alleged a particularly troublesome dog owner.
She had been told by animal control officers on the scene the dogs would not be returned to the property, but she was at a loss as to why the owner could not be banned from having dogs again.
Kaipara District Council’s spokeswoman said the council could not provide any further details or comment while an active investigation was ongoing.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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