Woman mauled by 8 dogs
WELLINGTON (New Zealand) - A NEW Zealand woman jogger 'looked like a blob of blood' from multiple bite wounds after eight pig hunting dogs attacked her as she ran past a rural property on North Island, her husband said on Tuesday.
Margit Christensen, 36, suffered scores of bites to her scalp, arms and legs before the dogs ran off. Rescue services flew the woman to Waikato Hospital by helicopter where she had nine hours of surgery overnight Monday, emergency specialist Dr John Bonning said.
'There were serious injuries pretty much all over her body,' said Sergeant Jason Shailer of Te Awamutu police in central North Island.
Husband Sven Christensen said a friend was cycling nearby when she heard the mother of two screaming as three dogs attacked her. The friend alerted a neighbour and called Mr Christensen, who got to the scene before medical help arrived.
The dogs' owner had helped drive the pack off his wife, Christensen said. 'She kept whacking them with sticks and they kept trying to come back and come back, and then she managed get them off,' he said.
Margit Christensen told Dr Bonning she curled into fetal position to protect herself during the 15-minute attack - a move that saved her life.
'She was the most seriously injured person that been injured by dog bites I have ever seen. She had injuries all over her body - to her arms, her neck, her back, her legs and it sounds like an absolutely horrific attack,' he told the radio network. 'Blood loss is certainly a way you can die from injuries such as these,' he added.
The woman was in a stable condition after extensive surgery, but Dr Bonning said she faces many skin graft operations.
Sgt Shailer said the dogs had been seized and destroyed after their owner signed a destruction order.
A decision on whether the owner would be charged over the attack by his unrestrained pig hunting dogs would be made later on Tuesday, Sgt Shailer said. -- AP
WELLINGTON (New Zealand) - A NEW Zealand woman jogger 'looked like a blob of blood' from multiple bite wounds after eight pig hunting dogs attacked her as she ran past a rural property on North Island, her husband said on Tuesday.
Margit Christensen, 36, suffered scores of bites to her scalp, arms and legs before the dogs ran off. Rescue services flew the woman to Waikato Hospital by helicopter where she had nine hours of surgery overnight Monday, emergency specialist Dr John Bonning said.
'There were serious injuries pretty much all over her body,' said Sergeant Jason Shailer of Te Awamutu police in central North Island.
Husband Sven Christensen said a friend was cycling nearby when she heard the mother of two screaming as three dogs attacked her. The friend alerted a neighbour and called Mr Christensen, who got to the scene before medical help arrived.
The dogs' owner had helped drive the pack off his wife, Christensen said. 'She kept whacking them with sticks and they kept trying to come back and come back, and then she managed get them off,' he said.
Margit Christensen told Dr Bonning she curled into fetal position to protect herself during the 15-minute attack - a move that saved her life.
'She was the most seriously injured person that been injured by dog bites I have ever seen. She had injuries all over her body - to her arms, her neck, her back, her legs and it sounds like an absolutely horrific attack,' he told the radio network. 'Blood loss is certainly a way you can die from injuries such as these,' he added.
The woman was in a stable condition after extensive surgery, but Dr Bonning said she faces many skin graft operations.
Sgt Shailer said the dogs had been seized and destroyed after their owner signed a destruction order.
A decision on whether the owner would be charged over the attack by his unrestrained pig hunting dogs would be made later on Tuesday, Sgt Shailer said. -- AP
