Year-long wait for dog attack to reach court

An elderly Paraparaumu man, attacked by a dog a year ago, is relieved the dog's owner has finally appeared in court after an "unbearably long" wait.

Robyn Ward got off his bicycle in a cul- de-sac on December 6 last year to look at a house under construction when an aggressive-looking dog appeared from underneath a nearby parked car.

He hopped back on his bike to cycle away when the dog, a blue heeler called Cowboy, lunged at him, putting a 15-centimetre gash in his lower left leg.

"I looked down and saw the flap of skin hanging over my boot and blood pouring down," Mr Ward said.

A man on the roof, who he believed to be the owner, yelled out: "It was your own bloody fault – you shouldn't have been on the building site."

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The next day Mr Ward reported the attack to Kapiti Coast District Council. Ten days later, his GP said the gash had become infected and he was sent to Hutt Hospital for a skin graft. He spent Christmas and New Year waiting for the operation.

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