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• A man and woman in Hakaru, between  and  in , north of , were .
• Both victims have puncture wounds around their bodies and face a long recovery.
• The community had complained about roaming , but  has done little, residents say.

A woman mauled by a pack of dogs while painting her house and a neighbour who ran to her aid are facing a long recovery after a vicious attack.

The woman was at the back of her rural property north of Auckland between Kaiwaka and Mangawhai when four dogs “in hunting mode” broke through a fence and set upon her on Saturday morning.

She forced them off, pushed them out of the gate and ran to safety on her deck, screaming and “bleeding severely”. She used towels to unsuccessfully try and stop the blood.

Her neighbour then ran to help her. He used a belt as a tourniquet to stop her bleeding.

And then the dogs came back and attacked him.

He was treated by Hato Hone St John Ambulance paramedics and she was flown to Whangārei Hospital by the Northland Rescue Helicopter.

The woman’s sister, who asked nobody’s name be published out of fear of reprisals from the dogs' owners, said she had multiple puncture wounds and parts of her body had flesh torn away.

“Her wrist is mangled, her whole back of her leg is severely hematomaed [bruised] and punctured, so they could only stitch up a quarter of the wounds because of the risk for infection,” her sister told the Herald.

A man and woman were mauled by a pack of dogs in Hakaru, Kaipara, in Northland. Photo / Google

“It’s early days. She is up and about, but still on morphine and things.

“The family is really, really thankful to [the neighbour] for coming over to her. What a brave man he was.”

Hato Hone St John Ambulance said it responded to the incident, but would not comment given it was on private property. Police said they were called just after 10am, but did not attend, telling the caller to contact animal control.

Kaipara District Council’s animal control officers saw the four unsecured dogs and identified them as the offending animals, a spokeswoman said.

“The team impounded the dogs the same day,” and an investigation was launched, she said.

‘They still didn’t act': Town slates animal control

The woman’s sister said the small settlement had regularly complained of vicious and roaming dogs, but claimed animal control “still didn’t act”. She said there had been other attacks in the past, and alleged a particularly troublesome dog owner.

She had been told by animal control officers on the scene the dogs would not be returned to the property, but she was at a loss as to why the owner could not be banned from having dogs again.

Kaipara District Council’s spokeswoman said the council could not provide any further details or comment while an active investigation was ongoing.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.