Dog charity’s regret after child bitten on face

A Taranaki charity that rehomes dogs has written of its regret after one of its foster canines bit a young child on the face.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page following its sentencing in the New Plymouth District Court for the 2021 attack, the We Love Dogs Charitable Trust said it ‘‘regrets the situation that developed, that resulted in the bite to the young girl’’.

It went on to say its ‘‘sympathies, thoughts and concern have been with, and continue to be with, her and the family impacted’’.

On Friday, the trust was convicted and ordered to pay $10,000 in emotional harm to the New Plymouth family after the 9-year-old ridgeback bull mastiff cross named Scooby bit the 4-year-old, less than 24 hours after it arrived at her home, leaving her with serious facial injuries. Sentencing Judge Tony Greig described the trust’s approach to foster care placement as ‘‘negligent to a significant degree’’.

The dog was placed with the young victim’s family on July 6, 2021 – the same day it was picked up from its previous foster carer.

That carer had told the trust how the dog growled at and pinned down one of her cats, and was possessive around food and its space.

The child victim had been bitten in the face when she went to pat Scooby on the back, the court heard. The victim’s mother, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her daughter, previously said she felt the trust had not taken responsibility, or offered the family an apology.

An argument was made in court by the trust’s lawyer for a discharge without conviction, but this failed.

Judge Greig also ordered for the dog to be put down, and the trust to pay the $4910 in costs related to its stay at the New Plymouth pound.

In its statement, the trust said the court proceedings had limited its ability to ‘‘reach out substantively to the family or advise the public of the situation, to assure all the steps taken to prevent an event like this reoccurring’’.

It had made changes to its fostering system, which included that dogs were not placed with families who had children aged under 10, except for puppies younger than 15 weeks, or small-breed dogs. The trust had also sought the help of dog behaviourist Mark Vette to develop best-practice standards for rehoming canines.