The dog which bit an Alexandra policewoman at the weekend was suspected of an earlier attack on another person.
Central Otago District Council planning and environment manager Louise van der Voort yesterday confirmed the same dog - a neapolitan bull mastiff - came to the attention of the dog control authority at the start of March.
"We were advised by police of an incident relating to this dog apparently biting a man, who received quite serious bite injuries, we were told. However, when we followed it up, the person who was allegedly bitten said it wasn't by this dog but it was a random attack in the Pines [reserve] by another dog."
The man could not give a description of the dog that attacked him, so the matter went no further, Ms van der Voort said.
Before the council could classify any dog as dangerous, it had to have sworn evidence.
There were about 5500 dogs registered in the district and of those, seven were classified as dangerous, she said. The seven dogs belonged to five people.
The neopolitan bull mastiff has been impounded and its fate has yet to be decided.
It was pepper-sprayed by police after joining in a violent struggle between police and an alleged offender early on Sunday. It bit the alleged offender as well as the policewoman, who is off work as a result of her injuries.
Acting Central Otago sub-area police commander Sergeant Ian Kerrisk, of Alexandra, said the policewoman could be off work for several more days.
"She received a deep puncture wound and is in some discomfort, but is otherwise OK. " On behalf of the dog control control authority, police had charged the alleged offender with owning a dog that attacked a person.
"The matter is now before the court and either the courts will make a decision about what should happen to the dog, or it will come back to the dog control authority to make a decision."
