Owner of dogs wants to send message to public

Rotorua man whose three dogs attacked two toddlers and a teacher is suffering deep remorse over the February incident near the Tauranga-Whakatane turnoff.

And he wants to send a message to all dog owners at keeping dogs unrestrained on private property. (...)

Mr Taiatini cannot explain the attack, but admitted his dogs did run unrestrained around his home. The dogs were domesticated, had been fed and exercised regularly and were friendly, giving no prior hint before the attack they posed a danger to society. (...)

His dogs had always been loose on his property, as he lived in a rural environment. They were house-bound pets and not used for hunting. "They lived close to the lake, that was their area, and there are a lot of big paddocks there."

Mr Taiatini has not owned a dog since the attacks, and said he wanted to alert other dog owners about the danger they posed to the community.

"I would like to put out a warning to owners to make sure their dogs are either chained up or caged; I hope the public learn from it as I have learned a lesson myself," he said. Who the hell is he to pass judgement on how other dog owners treat and train their dogs. NO, dogs aren't a menace to society, it's the owners. HE needs to be restrained, and if he would have had dog training, his dogs would have been better behaved, and he would have KNOWN his dogs "were going that way."

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