The owner of four dogs that attacked a boy in Gisborne yesterday is at a loss why they turned on the youngster.
The attack happened at a house in Emily St, in Riverdale, about 1pm. The dogs set on the 5-year-old boy, Calais, shortly after he had arrived at the property, police said. It is understood they were American staffordshire bull terrier crosses.
Calais' grandfather, who asked not to be named, said the dogs had never attacked anyone before.
"From what I gather [what] happened is that my other boy locked them out on the deck and the young fella just ran out, opened the door and, yeah.
"He wanted to go play with the ball," he said.
"We don't know how it could have happened. It's not like the dogs don't know him."
He said the boy had injuries to his head but that he would recover.
The dogs were in the pound. The man said he had given consent for three of them to be put down but not the fourth - an older dog - which he said was not involved in the attack.
"We're glad that he's all right but trying to explain to the kids about the dogs - it's just hard."
A police spokeswoman said the boy had been dropped off at the house by a family member and was entering the gate on the front deck when the four dogs burst on to the deck and attacked him.
"Other family members managed to drag the dogs off the boy and a neighbour also came to help."
The boy suffered multiple bite wounds and was taken to Gisborne Hospital in a serious condition.
Family members accompanied him in an ambulance to hospital where he underwent surgery. A hospital spokeswoman said he was last night in a stable condition.
Yesterday, the Gisborne District Council's animal control section and police seized the four dogs.
An Emily St resident, who asked not to be identified, described the dogs as "vicious".
The incident is the latest in a string of dog attacks and comes after sustained calls for tighter dog controls, including bans on dangerous breeds.
Last month a baby girl was bitten on the face by her family's terrier.
In April, 7-year-old Darnell Minarapa-Brown needed more than 100 stitches to his face after being set on by a pitbull at his uncle's house in South Auckland.
Each year about 10,000 claims are lodged with ACC for treatment for dog attacks.
More than 2500 charges were made under the Dog Control Act in the past five financial years. Just over 350 dog destruction orders were granted in that time.
