Dog ripped face of 5-year-old day after released from pound
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
A 5-year-old girl was mauled by a dog released a day earlier from the pound in Porirua, a court has been told.
Melissa Tuapawa’s mixed-breed dog Thanos was impounded after it attacked a teenager in Porirua on January 21.
It was classified dangerous and given back to Tuapawa on January 30, according to a summary given to a judge in Wellington District Court on Monday.
The Post asked the Porirua City Council to explain events and was told Tuapawa had been living in Cambridge at the time and the dog was with family in Porirua. She asked for the dog to be returned to her.
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The council said before releasing the dog it contacted Waipā animal control about the incident, the dog’s dangerous classification, and where the dog was going.
The council said Tuapawa and adults in the Cambridge house were warned of the risk and the need for vigilance.
According to the summary it was the next day a girl, aged 5, was in a garage with the dog and Tuapawa. The girl said she was playing “fetch” with the dog. The animal was not wearing a muzzle or a lead.
The dog attacked the girl, seriously injuring her cheek and lip.
She had surgery to repair the “complex” wound that also needed the blood supply restored. The victim has scars across her lip along the side of her nose and up under her eye, the summary said.
The dog was seized that day and held at the Waipā District Council animal shelter. The council laid the charge against Tuapawa of owning a dog that seriously injured a person.
The maximum penalty was three years’ jail and a $20,000 fine.
Tuapawa pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced in October.
She agreed to Thanos being euthanised on March 27.
She had told an animal control officer that she was in the garage at the time of the attack and saw the injury. She had told the injured girl she was “sorry but was in shock”, she said.
The dog was registered as a staffordshire bull terrier and had a microchip.
Porirua City Council policy, planning and regulatory services manager Nic Etheridge said in a statement to The Post that the first incident happened when the dog was on a bed with an 18-year-old member of Tuapawa’s family.
The family contacted the council asking for the dog to be removed.
The victim’s injury was considered moderate, steri-strips were used to close the wound on his face, and he was given antibiotics, Etheridge said.
Tuapawa asked for the dog to be returned to her.
“There was no prior history of aggression for the dog when the incident occurred and therefore the decision was made to classify him dangerous and release him to the owner,” Etheridge said.
Before releasing the dog from the Porirua pound officers contacted Waipā District Council to tell it of the release and the classification, she said.
“Details of the incident, dog and owner, along with the kept-at address in Cambridge, were given to Waipā Animal Control, along with the dangerous classification paperwork prior to release,” Etheridge said.
“Because of the transfer, it would fall on Waipā District Council to ensure the dog owner was adhering to the dangerous dog classification conditions.
“We had also communicated the risk that the dog may pose to both the dog owner and the adults residing at the Cambridge property (where the dog was to be kept) before being released from the Porirua pound,” she said.
“Despite our warnings to be vigilant, the dog owner and residents of the Cambridge property were adamant that the dog would not pose a risk,” Etheridge said.
After the injury in Porirua the council had decided not to charge Tuapawa. The dog was not in her direct control at the time, and she was not held directly responsible.
“Given the evidence collected, with no prior history of aggression and the degree of injury sustained, the dangerous classification was considered the correct level of enforcement,” Etheridge said.