Pregnant mum ‘in shock’ after attack by dog
Serene Mallowes said she was acting ‘‘on pure instinct’’ as she tried to protect her stomach from an attacking staffordshire bull terrier.
The west Auckland mother was out for a walk on March 10 when a fellow walker’s dog slipped its lead and charged her. Mallowes is 20 weeks pregnant.
‘‘It all just happened so fast. I have never had a bad experience with a dog before so it just really shocked me,’’ she said.
The 28-year-old left her Green Bay property at about noon to drop some DVDs at the shops.
She walked about 300 metres down the road before turning on to Vardon Avenue, a route she had taken many times and a journey she usually made with her two-year-old son, Braxton.
‘‘As I came around the grass verge a lady was coming towards me with her dog, I thought nothing of her,’’ she said.
‘‘Before I could react [the dog] just slipped off the lead and charged me. It started jumping and I was desperately trying to push it off my stomach, that was the only thing going through my head. Then it went for my legs. As soon as it saw me it just went for me. No barking, no nothing. It just attacked.’’
By the time the owner got her dog under control, Mallowes was standing in a pool of her own blood ‘‘in complete shock’’.
‘‘The lady yelled ‘I got him just go’. I knew I should have got her information but I was so scared I just wanted to get out of there. It sucks that it was a staffy because they get such a bad rap.’’
Mallowes limped home before heading to White Cross medical centre, Henderson, where an Auckland Council Animal Management officer took down her statement. A week on from the attack and Mallowes said she just wanted to protect the rest of her community from similar incidents.
‘‘I don’t want the dog put down or anything like that, but it needs to be muzzled,’’ she said.
‘‘We have an old folks home and a primary school just up the road so it is a real safety concern.’’
Mallowes said a postie had been working across the road and witnessed the attack. New Zealand Post declined to comment.
Team leader for Animal Management Central West, Troy Allison, said the incident was being looked into. This year there had been 43 dog attacks on people reported to Animal Management in west Auckland.