A beloved family dog has been put down after it suffered “horrific” injuries in a violent mauling by four larger dogs participating in a “pack walk” in East Auckland earlier this month.
The attack has sparked community outrage, prompting people to share experiences of their own run-ins with dog walking business Stimulated K9 and many calling for it to be shut down.
Barbara Wright was moving into her new home on April 8 and decided to take her two dogs, Cairn Terrier Kippa and Jack Russell Hugo, for a “lovely long walk.”
As she walked Whitford’s Bridle Track with the pair, a woman passing by on a horse warned her to be wary of a group of dogs near the car park. Believing them to be from a different local dog walking company who were “well behaved” and “brilliant,” Wright made the decision to carry on walking with the hope they would have moved on by the time she got to the car park.
“I regret that, I feel absolutely riddled with guilt,” she told 1News.
Turning left to avoid walking near the car park, she had barely gone 50 metres when she was met by four “huge” dogs that ran towards her and circled her.
“One dog went behind me, and Hugo had gone behind me, trying to hide between my legs,” she said.
Kippa stayed in front of Wright to “protect” her.
“She’s only four and a half kilograms. Bless her heart, she couldn’t have protected me from anything.”
As Wright watched in horror, one dog grabbed Kippa in its mouth and “shook her like a ragdoll.” She kicked the dog in the chest and it released Kippa, only for a second dog to grab her and continue mauling her. A third dog then did the same. Kippa had gone limp, with blood pouring from her mouth and body. Fearing the worst, Wright made the instinctive decision to stick her hand in the dog’s mouth to try and rescue Kippa from the dog’s jaws.
“As I did so, I got bitten. I pulled Kippa up to my chest and held her.”
Hugo had somehow slipped his collar, so Wright grabbed him by the scruff of the neck with her heavily bleeding hand.
“I thought he was bitten, but he wasn't, it was just blood from me.”
Only then did the dog walker come into view with ten other large dogs. Wright said the woman had three of the dogs tied around her waist which pulled her to the ground and dragged her on her backside as the dogs tried to join in with the mauling.
“She had no control.”
Wright was finally able to pull Kippa from the dog's mouth and ran while yelling at the walker.
An immediate trip to the emergency vet would reveal Kippa had suffered extensive injuries in the attack. Every rib in her body had been crushed, her lungs and bowel were punctured, and she had a broken leg and a ruptured Achilles tendon. The bill came to just under $12,000.
“All her wounds in the end got completely septic… and unfortunately she was too weak to take the anaesthetic,” said Wright.
“She was 13, she's been our pet since my kids were all little kids, and she was the sweetest, calmest little dog you'd ever see.”
Wright, a grief counsellor, said she “can take a lot of sadness, but this has just broken my heart.”
She still wakes up in the night hearing Kippa whining.
“I'm absolutely mad in the brain. To see your family pet being mauled to death is just heartbreaking.”
Nicole Edwards was on the trail when Barbara's dog was attacked and put a post on the Pohutukawa Coast Grapevine Facebook group about the incident.
From the post, a group in the community got together to share their experiences with Stimulated K9.
“It's just gone off,” she told 1News. “So many people contacting all of us.”
She said a mother had been walking with her newborn baby, preschooler and dog in the area when they were also confronted by the loose pack.
“She had to race out onto the beach with a pram and her preschooler to get away, she had to leave the dog to fend for itself. They found it hiding under her car in the car park.”
Another woman was chased by a loose pack while she was riding her horse in the area, Edwards said.
“There's lots of families walking with kids. The pack has chased horses and other dogs, so it's just a matter of time until a kid is injured.”
Edwards said there “desperately” needed to be some regulation around commercial dog walking in Auckland.
“We hope Auckland Council will be forced to bring in some bylaws.”
In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, the owner of Stimulated K9, known only as Leni, said the medical bills had been paid in full and disputed that Kippa had been “mauled to death.”
She also said that Wright had “appreciated the quick and prompt action.”
Wright said the $12,000 bill had been “partially paid” and urged Leni to stop walking the dogs off-leash in public areas.
“She was mauled, and this lady is saying she wasn't mauled. She was attacked, I have to say, what is the f***ing difference?”
Leni and Stimulated K9 were approached by 1News but declined to comment.
Auckland Council extended its condolences to Barbara and her family and said it was “thoroughly” investigating the incident.
Two dogs were seized over the attack and have since been released to their owners under “strict confinement conditions”, said animal management team leader Angie Castro.
“Currently, a dog walker has the same legal responsibilities as an owner. This includes keeping the dogs in their care under control at all times and ensuring the dogs do not attack any person or animal.
“This means the dog walker is responsible for deciding whether it is appropriate to walk any one or more particular dogs and can be held accountable if an incident occurs.”
Castro said no additional rules applied to dog walkers in the Dog Control Act 1996 or Auckland Council Dog Management Bylaw 2019.
However, the latter bylaw is undergoing a review, with regulations for commercial dog walkers being considered as part of that process, she said.
In Wellington, a license is needed to walk or train dogs in public places as a business. Applicants must attend and pass an animal services course and be assessed by an animal control officer.
“Any proposed changes will be open to public feedback in early 2025.”
Castro said owners should retreat slowly to a safe space if they or their dog is attacked by a dog behaving aggressively and phone the council to report the incident.
