Living to tell her story after horrific dog attack

MARK TAYLOR/ Waikato Times

SURVIVOR: Maggie Christensen has returned home after surgery which included six skin grafts to treat the horrific dog bites she suffered earlier this month.

Relevant offers

A Putaruru woman mauled by eight pig hunting dogs thought it was only a matter of time before they killed her.

"I prayed I would die quickly, that it wouldn't take long,'' Maggie Christensen said this week, describing her terrifying ordeal on August 3 which left her with bites one doctor described as the worst he had seen.

Mrs Christensen, 36, was set upon by the young bull terrier-cross pack as she was out running on rural Hildreth Rd, not far from her family's dairy farm.

In an exclusive interview this week with the Waikato Times, she said she had felt the dogs biting into the back of her neck, her scalp, her ear, and she knew it wouldn't take long for them to get to her throat.

She thought she could fight them at first  "I knew I had to protect myself''  but she ran out of strength.

They got her on to the ground and she instinctively curled into the foetal position to protect herself, as they continued the fierce attack.

At the time, Mrs Christensen was uncertain if her friend Christina Eigner, riding ahead of her on a unicycle, had heard her shouting for help.

She thinks it was about 15 minutes before the dogs were called off by their owner, Tara Tuhakaraina, 29.

The animals have been destroyed and Ms Tuhakaraina has been charged with eight counts of owning a dog causing injury. She will appear in the Tokoroa District Court on Tuesday.

Mrs Christensen was left in a blood-covered heap on the road-side gravel; she was covered in dog bites and sustained injuries to her scalp, back, arms and legs.

Ms Eigner had managed to phone Mrs Christensen's husband, Sven, and Putaruru St John Ambulance, and they came quickly to help. Mrs Christensen was airlifted to Waikato Hospital where she underwent nine hours of surgery.

She has healed remarkably quickly, and on Wednesday she went home to daughters Antonia, 10, and Karla, 8. She walked out of the hospital with a single crutch for extra support.

Hospital staff said Mrs Christensen's injuries were the most extensive and extreme of that nature they had seen, and it was amazing she was alive.

She has had six skin grafts, but at first glance she appears relatively unscathed because of the lack of damage to her face.

Nurse Dana Herman, who helped care for Mrs Christensen since she was admitted, said her progress was rewarding for staff. "It is a spectacular recovery, we thought it would take far longer. She's beautiful, and she's smiling all the time. She's been a pleasure to look after.''

Mrs Christensen has a strong message for dog owners about the need to restrain their animals, and she wants the public to report roaming dogs: "I hope I can contribute something so it doesn't happen again. I am thankful a child was spared.

There would not be much likelihood of a child surviving this.'' She said although people had been shocked by what happened to her, the behaviour of some owners clearly hadn't changed.

Her husband Sven Christensen  a longtime pig-hunter himself  had regularly seen dogs loose on the roads around Putaruru during his trips to Waikato Hospital this month.

It was evidence of careless owners, and Mrs Christensen urged people to "have a good think about why you have a dog''. She said people often didn't know how to train a dog and weren't aware of the time it took to look after them properly.

Mrs Christensen, who is originally from Germany, has had messages of support and prayers from all over the world.

She said she was very grateful to Waikato Hospital staff and was deeply touched by the widespread support the family has had from the local Putaruru community.

"The town has showed a real spirit of people wanting to help.''

- © Fairfax NZ News