A dog which badly bit a two-year-old Bay of Plenty girl on Saturday had previously come to the attention of the local council, after it allegedly broke through a hole in a fence and attacked another dog.
The Kawerau had surgery at Whakatane Hospital last night and was recovering in a ward, a hospital spokeswoman said.
She received a nasty facial laceration after being attacked by a pitbull at a Kawerau property, Acting Sergeant Ian Dodds said.
Police were considering laying charges against the dog's owner.
Kawerau District Council regulatory and planning manager Chris Jensen told NZPA the dog had come to the council's attention after a witness saw it break through a fence and attack a neighbour's dog, ripping its ear.
The council investigated and found the dog had not been registered with local authorities after it was moved to Kawerau from Rotorua, where it was registered.
It was declared "menacing" - as is required by law for dogs of predominantly pitbull breed -- but no further action was taken because the owner of the injured dog did not wish to lay a complaint.
"Apart from properly noting the transfer and issuing the required menacing notice, from our perspective, there was no further action that we would take," Mr Jensen said.
The council had impounded the dog and was in the process of obtaining the owner's consent to have it put down.
If it was not given, the council would consider prosecution in order to obtain the necessary consent, Mr Jensen said.
Meanwhile, a four-year-old girl has undergone reconstructive surgery in Hutt Hospital after being mauled by a bull mastiff-pitbull cross in Masterton on Saturday.
She was being supervised by an adult as she patted the dog, which had been a family pet for 10 years "without problem", Acting Sergeant Tony Matheson, of Masterton police, said.
She suffered extensive soft tissue damage around her face, which Mr Matheson described as "pretty nasty".
Masterton District Council dog controllers put down the dog with a lethal injection this morning, council chief executive Wes ten Hove said.
The dog's owner, a close family member, has been charged under the Dog Control Act with owning a dog which has caused injury. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment, up to a $20,000 fine, or both.
Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has pledged to reform dog control laws before the November election in the wake of the attacks, saying laws are failing to protecting the public.
However, the architect of current dog control, former local government minister Chris Carter, yesterday said he believed current laws were comprehensive.
