WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

A dog owner has spent “thousands” of dollars on vet bills after her dog was “savaged” in a ferocious attack at a Tauranga park.

Bellevue resident Taryn, who did not want her surname published, said she was walking her dog, Marley, on Sunday afternoon at Mitchell Park in Bellevue when two dogs ran over and “sprung” at Marley.

Taryn said one dog had Marley “tightly around the neck”, while its owner managed to kick the other dog aside.

Marley suffered injuries to his neck and spent the night at an after-hours vet.

Taryn said the incident was “very traumatic” and wanted to share her story in the hope it did not happen to another dog, or a child.

Figures from Tauranga City Council show there were 111 domestic animal attacks in the 2021/22 financial year, with a projected 114 attacks in the 2022/23 financial year.

The incident happened in Mitchell Park in Bellevue on Sunday evening. Photo / Alex Cairns

Taryn said she had walked Marley, a white cavadoodle weighing about eight kilograms, every day in the park for the six years of his life.

 “I know all the people in the park ... we don’t really have big ferocious dogs.”

Taryn said she initially thought the dogs were running over to play.

She described them as “quite big dogs” that were short-haired and “athletic”.

She did not know what breed they were.

“It just happened so quickly ... they just sort of sprung at him.

“They were both on [Marley], and the owner managed to sort of kick one aside, and he was trying to come back on again. Meanwhile, the other one had him tightly around the neck.

“He [the owner] tried to prise the jaw off.”

Marley suffered injuries to his neck after the attack.

She said the owner “didn’t really apologise” but asked if her dog was okay.

“And then he said to me, ‘I checked when I was in the park, there was a dog and he left, so I thought it was okay to let my two off for a run’.”

Taryn took Marley to an after-hours vet after the “ferocious attack”.

She said “50 per cent of his neck [was] savaged” and there were stitches all around Marley’s neck.

“There’s this big gaping hole in the back ... big enough you could put your fist in.”

Taryn said it had cost them “thousands” of dollars, with the overnight vet costing $2400. With more vet appointments and medication, the bills were continuing to rise.

Marley was attacked by two dogs at Mitchell Park in Bellevue on Sunday and spent the night at an after-hours vet clinic.

Marley has since returned home and has been resting and lying in the sun, Taryn said.

However, she said he was still in a lot of pain and grunted every time he moved.

Taryn said she felt anxious about taking Marley out for walks once he had recovered. She had also reported the incident to Tauranga City Council.

In her view, Taryn said: “He [the owner] should have them muzzled or not let them off. It’s a public park.”

Tauranga City Council animal services team leader Brent Lincoln confirmed it had received a complaint about a dog attack at Mitchell Park on Sunday.

When a complaint was received, the council contacted the victim and formally interviewed them. It would also interview the offending dog owner if they could be identified.

“The outcome will vary depending on the seriousness of the attack, the history of the dog and the owner, the accuracy of evidence and the status of the animals involved, e.g. if they were on a leash or not, etc.

“We have a range of penalty options, including a warning, classifying the dog as menacing or dangerous, and issuing an infringement fine or a prosecution.”

Marley is currently recovering at home from his injuries. Photo / Supplied

If the offending dog owner was unable to be identified immediately, it would review CCTV in the area, talk to people in the area, and where possible, may take swabs from the injury site to complete a DNA analysis if it located the suspect dog, Lincoln said.

Data provided in the council’s response showed there were 94 domestic animal attacks in the 2018/19 financial year, 127 attacks in 2019/20, 114 attacks in 2020/21 and 111 attacks in 2021/22.

The projected figure for the 2022/23 financial year was an estimated 114 attacks.

Domestic animals included dogs, cats and rabbits.

Figures from Tauranga City Council also showed there were 15,153 known dogs in Tauranga for the 2021/22 financial year, with a projected number of 15,558 for the 2022/23 financial year.