The owner of one of the two rottweilers which attacked an autistic man in Southland yesterday says the "lovely" dogs were "protecting their home like all normal dogs would".
The dog's owner, who wished to remain anonymous, wanted to apologise to the the victim but said "we are not bad owners and they are not bad dogs", the NZ Herald reports.
"We got the dogs to guard our house and be our forever friends," he said.
"I know other people have put a bad name to rotties, but we are the small handful of rottie owners that loved and looked after them. We are hurting a lot over this."
He alleges that Oliver Beaumont, 22, was attacked near his Winton home yesterday after opening the man's gate and entering his property.
"The person that was attacked should never have opened the gate and should never have been on my property," the owners said.
The man and his partner own Zara, the female rottweiler, while the male dog, Frank, belongs to his partner's father.
Mr Beaumont received extensive injuries to his face and arms in the attack, which lasted five minutes.
Mr Beaumont is in a stable condition after he was transported to Southland Hospital for surgery.
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