A father whose family pitbull-mastiff dog viciously mauled his four-year-old son has escaped a jail term.
The 41-year-old has been sentenced to 300 hours community work and 12 months supervision for owning a dog that attacked a person.
The dog turned on the boy while they were playing unsupervised in the backyard of their Housing New Zealand home in Otahuhu in August 2014.
The boy spent 10 days in intensive care in Middlemore Hospital, and is still receiving ongoing treatment at the age of seven.
Auckland Council wanted a jail sentence imposed as a message to dog owners that they must take responsibility for ensuring people are safe.
Musha was put down days after the attack, but the case has dragged on for almost three years, after Shepherd attempted to unsuccessfully change his guilty plea, sacked his lawyers and several adjournments took place.
-NewstalkZB
