An elderly man who was set upon by vicious dogs in Northland late last year has again been the victim of a dog attack that's left him rattled and injured.
The latest ordeal occurred on the same Kaikohe street as the first incident, and comes just 54 days later. In the first attack, Jim Morgan's dog Sandy was so wounded that he was forced to put her down.
This time, Mr Morgan suffered a nasty bite on his hip and went into shock after allegedly being set upon by two "bull terrier-type dogs" on Monday, according to a neighbour.
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The 95-year-old is legally blind and profoundly deaf, meaning he has little opportunity to protect himself when attacks do occur.
His neighbour Helen* told Newshub that Mr Morgan gets out and walks three times a day to keep his strength up, but there are aggressive dogs in the area who aren't adequately enclosed, and place him and other passers-by in danger.
Helen says the Far North District Council simply isn't doing enough to prevent incidents like this from occurring in the area.
"We are very angry with what we believe is the total dysfunctional management of the dog problem here in Kaikohe," she said.
"Will this end in someone actually being fatally injured? It's what we foresee in the future anyway. This type of dog attack has been going on since the year 2000 at least, if not before."
But the council's manager of environmental services says while it is "appalled and angry" that Mr Morgan has been attacked again, it is working hard to prevent further attacks and is willing to dish out severe punishments.
"Our investigation into this latest incident is continuing," Darren Edwards said.
"If we find that the dogs were not under control, we will prosecute the owner and, where necessary, destroy the dogs involved."
Mr Edwards said it is "unacceptable" that members of the Far North community feel unsafe while walking in public, and reassures the public that staff take the council's dog control bylaws "very seriously".
However he admits there are several areas in the Far North where dog control problems recur.
"We have focused our enforcement efforts on these areas," Mr Edwards said.
"We ask members of those communities to help us keep their streets safe by immediately telling us about aggressive and uncontrolled dogs. Where necessary, we also ask people to help us with prosecutions.
"We know this is not always easy as witnesses to dog attacks often feel frightened of dog owners, who can also be their neighbours."
The first attack on Mr Morgan - and the subsequent euthanisation of Sandy - broke New Zealand's collective heart when Newshub reported on it in December 2018.
The 95-year-old was bombarded with financial contributions, messages of love and support, and even chocolates from Sweden from those moved by his plight.
*This name has been changed to protect the neighbour's safety.
Newshub.
