Owner faced bloodbath after pet pitbull savaged | Northland News | Local News in Northland

A KAMO family has been left devastated after a pet pitbull was badly mauled in a frenzied backyard attack.

The dog, called Blaze, was kept on a chain in the family's fenced garden and had little chance when a great dane/French mastiff leapt into the section.

Owner Sharron Te Maire-Kuha was called by the SPCA and told Blaze had been taken to a vet but would have to be put down. She rushed to be with her pet as it died.

"His injuries were horrific. He was covered in blood, had one eye missing and half his lip was gone. It was very traumatic," she said.

Ms Te Maire-Kuha took Blaze home so the family could say goodbye, but was confronted by a gruesome mess in the back yard.

"There was blood everywhere. I didn't want the children seeing it. There are still blood stains on the fence that I can't scrub off, and I had to clean up Blaze so that we could all say goodbye."

She said her three children and three grandchildren, who all live at the Kamo home, were distraught when Blaze wasn't there to welcome them home from school last Wednesday.

Despite being a pitbull, Ms Te Maire-Kuha said Blaze was a gentle, good natured dog.

"I'm so angry with the owners of the other dog. We'd done everything to make sure our dog was controlled ... What if their dog had killed one of my children?"

But Environmental Northland manager Keith Thompson - who is in charge of dog control in Whangarei - said it was a sad case of two good dog owners who had now both lost their pets.

The other dog, which had since been put down, was registered and had not been picked up before.

"It was a very friendly dog to humans, but not so much to other dogs."

Mr Thompson said when the owner visited the pound the morning after the incident, he had already made direct-credit arrangements with the SPCA to pay the vet bills.

"He was devastated, not only for the loss of his dog but for what it had done to the other dog."

Mr Thompson said the SPCA was still deciding whether to prosecute.

Ms Te Maire-Kuha said pitbulls got "such a bad rap" and it was not always fair.

"Our dog was lovely and I miss him every day. He was part of the family."