A recent dog attack on a local beach is highlighting the need for dogs to be secured.

Tauranga City Council team leader of animal services Brent Lincoln says more dogs roaming the streets means dog attacks have also increased.

“Attacks often occur when a dog is free to leave its property or is not under secure control when being walked in public,” says Brent.

Brent asks that people ensure their dog is not free to leave their property and that their dog is always under control.

The man attacked on Omanu Beach is sharing his story to warn the public saying that those with children would not be able to defend themselves in that situation.

The man says he was attacked by a black dog on Omanu beach early on Wednesday morning.

“I was heading to the beach for a surf to check out the waves,” he says.

The man had walked into the car park at Omanu beach where he says he was attacked by a black dog which was off the leash.

“The dog came out of nowhere and just grabbed hold of my leg.”

The man says the owners did not show up until a few minutes later to get their dog under control.

He says this still gave the dog time to do plenty of damage.

One of these injuries was a bite that pierced a main artery causing severe pain and blood loss, he says.

The man says the owners didn’t seem to care, saying “Our dog barely did anything to you,” and “You’re not even injured.”

He says while he was leaving he was bleeding heavily and was in severe pain as he was left to drive himself to the hospital.

The owners didn’t give any of their details, “when you’re losing so much blood, there’s no time to bloody sit there and exchange details, he says.

“You’d think that if they knew I was going to the hospital, the responsible thing for them to do is to come to the hospital and check on me to make sure I’m okay.

The man says the dog looked like a pit bull cross, “I’m not saying pit bulls are a bad breed, it’s the owners.

“Whatever that owner was doing with it sounds to me like he wasn’t a very good owner, or he was teaching it to attack because where it bit me and the areas it bit me, it was going for the main veins.

“It went for the arms and the legs and the thighs as well as underneath the biceps.

“The dog knew what it was doing, it was going for the main arteries in the body.”

The man says there is blood still on his steering wheel from driving himself to the hospital.

“Be very careful, for parents, be very cautious.”

Keep dogs on a leash, that way they’re not out of sight from the owner, he says.

“I’m not sure what a child could have done about it, there probably isn’t much a child could do to defend themselves against it.”

During summer children are always out and about going to the beach and the park.

These incidents need to be prevented to keep them safe.

“There is a high chance that they [child] would not survive such a vicious attack,” says a friend of the man who was attacked.

“These owners and this dog need to be held accountable.”

“If a member of the public is attacked by a dog or their dog is attacked, we urge them to get in touch with Council as soon as possible,” says Brent.

“If approached by an aggressive dog, stop and then slowly back away from the dog, holding anything you have between you and the dog and ensure you keep turning to face the dog if it tries to get behind you.”

Brent warns not to try and kick or hit the dog, just quietly back away.

“On most occasions, you will remove yourself from the area the dog is protecting or defending, and the dog will leave you alone.”

Once safe, call Council on 07 577 7000.

If anyone or their animal is attacked by another dog, they are encouraged to call Council.

“Reporting an attack today could prevent a more serious one in the future.”