The owner of the four dogs that mauled a young Japanese girl in Murupara last year has been discharged without conviction.

Gareth Boyt appeared in the Rotorua District Court this morning.

The public gallery was packed with supporters, many who began crying when Boyt was discharged.

Boyt said through his lawyer that he was pleased with the decision, and was pleased with judge for dealing with it in the way he did.

The police summary of facts outlines that Sakurako Uehara was unsupervised at the time of the attack and was discovered face down by her mother.

She received 100 bites all over her body, lost her right ear, nearly all the soft tissue on her face and 40-percent of her scalp.

Nearly a year after the attack surgeons have begun reconstructing her face and the young girl is expected to be in and out of hospital for at least ten years.