Friendly pitbull scalded | Northland News | Local News in Northland

A friendly young pitbull dog that Whangarei SPCA staff have named Flash could have been caught in the public backlash against vicious members of his breed.

Boiling water or some other hot fluid appears to have been tossed on to the stray's back, leaving a raw scald wound on which hair will never regrow.

SPCA manager Francine Shields was angry about the dog's injury, which a veterinarian yesterday estimated happened about three days ago.

Ms Shields said it appeared someone may have "gone into panic overload" over recent reported pitbull attacks and taken it out on Flash.

"Only a small minority of dogs are aggressive. This one is quite a nice little dog," she said.

If the person who scalded the animal was found, the SPCA would consider prosecuting them, Ms Shields said.

Staff from Environmental Northland, the Whangarei District Council's animal control contractors, collected the dog after a woman called about 7.15am yesterday to report it had wandered on to her Morningside Rd property.

Flash was wearing a collar, but was unregistered and did not have an implanted microchip identifying his owner.

He was found near where a pitbull attacked a family's pet huntaway dog in Anzac Rd on Saturday. That pitbull was stabbed eight times during the attack and was subdued by being struck on the head twice with a heavy plank. Badly wounded, it was put down by an SPCA vet.

Flash, on the other hand, was friendly, about a year old and showing no sign of aggression.

"His only crime is straying and being unregistered," she said.

The good condition Flash was in, apart from his scald, indicated he had a home where he was cared for, and Ms Shields was hopeful his owner would turn up within the seven days he must be held at the city pound before being put down as an unclaimed stray.

Environmental Northland director Keith Thompson said that, on average, one stray dog was impounded daily. About 60 per cent were unclaimed and put down. About 85 per cent of these of those destroyed were pitbulls.

Environmental Northland last month dealt with 157 dogs reported wandering, 21 dog attacks and 78 cases of barking. Two of the dogs were unregistered.

Told about Flash's scald, WDC spokeswoman Ann Midson repeated her earlier advice for people to contact the council when they saw a dog straying.

"Don't take matters into your own hands," she said.

There are no bad dogs, according to the New Zealand Pit Bull Terrier Club, which has more than 5000 dogs registered, just bad owners.

"You can get a nice puppy and ruin it by incorrect or no training. And, you can get a real precocious puppy and make him a star. The puppy is 25 per cent a product of his genetics and what he is, and 75 per cent what you make him after you get him," its website says.

Vet Jayne Greening, from the Northland Veterinary Group in Whangarei, said pitbulls had once been used for fighting and baiting bulls. They had a tendency to be aggressive so it was more important than with other breeds to ensure they got appropriate training and socialisation when they were young.

With the right training they could be good family dogs. But Ms Greening warned that even the nicest family dog of any breed could show aggression toward other dogs.