Dog Owner Pleads Guilty
UPDATE 09/17/08: Stuart Witere offered an "early" plea of guilty to charges of owning a dog that causes injury. The judge sentenced him to six months community detention and 100 hours community work. He was also ordered to pay $5,000 restitution. The judge said the man was genuinely remorseful. The teenager is reportedly making an excellent recovery.

07/24/08: Boy Returns from Hospital
The owner of four pig dogs (pit bull-greyhound crosses) that mauled a boy in Waitoa faces charges under the Dog Control Act. Stewart Witeri, 37, has been charged with two counts of owning a dog that caused injury and four counts of failing to register a dog. The boy was released from the hospital after surgery to his legs, arms and buttocks.

The boy suffered bites to 50% percent of his body in the attack, which resulted in him receiving more than 300 stitches and spending five days in hospital. In a separate new article, it is reported that the owner of the dog visited the boy after he was discharged from the hospital. Apparently the visit went well. The weightiness of the visit, however, must have been substantial.

07/16/08: 13-Year Old Boy Badly Injured
Waitoa, NZ - A thirteen year old suffered over a 100 bites after being attacked by four pig dogs, a particularly ferocious pit bull type dog used to hunt wild boar. The attack took place in Waitoa. A doctor said the boy's injuries were among the most extensive she had ever seen. The boy has undergone one round of surgery that lasted 6 hours and is now recovering at a hospital.

Sergeant Rod Smart, the officer in charge of Morrinsville police, said the boy was cycling through Waitoa when the pit bull-greyhound cross dogs escaped from their owner's garden. "He was attacked for a couple of minutes and received in excess of 100 bite wounds, mainly to his arms and legs, many of the wounds are down to the bone," Smart said.

"The owner of the dogs tried to pull the dogs off the child, he tried his best, but he couldn't keep all four dogs off. A passing motorist was flagged down by the owner and she managed to pull the boy into her car and drove him back to his home address," he said. "We're grateful for her assistance," Smart said. "If she hadn't acted then it could have been much worse."

The major damage was to the left bicep muscle, which now needs extensive physiotherapy. The boy is unlikely to return to school for several weeks. "I don't think I've ever seen such extensive injuries," said Dr. Neary. "Obviously he was extremely frightened." The dogs were destroyed yesterday. Smart said police were investigating and would take appropriate action if necessary.

Pig hunting with pig dogs has been banned in some regions. Many unwanted, and explosively dangerous dogs are produced in the process of breeding these dogs. Not to mention what the practice does to the pit bull gene pool, which is already deadly. Hog hunting is still legal in the state of Texas, the pit bull killing capital in the U.S. There are many disturbing pig hunting videos on YouTube.

Related articles:
04/26/08: 2007 Fatality: Rosalie Bivins Killed While Getting Her Mail
01/18/08: Pig Hunters Become the Hunted in Crackdown