Suz Guet, a Rotorua woman, looks down at the permanent scars on her arms and legs — daily reminders of the horrific dog attack she suffered eight months ago. The scars are not just physical but emotional as well, leaving her fearful and unable to walk alone in public since that day.
On September 3, Guet was attacked by three unregistered, roaming dogs while walking down Sunset Road. The incident, which occurred around 3pm, left Guet with severe injuries. One of the dogs tore into her arm, ripping flesh from her skin. The brutal assault has left a lasting impact, and Guet has since been unable to walk without someone accompanying her. She even carries ground pepper with her during walks, ready to defend herself in case another attack occurs.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
The three dogs involved in the attack were owned by Rotorua resident Joshua Dylan Fankhauser. They were Boss, a tan and white bull terrier cross; Smoke, a black and white lockley cross; and Quartz, a female tan whippet cattle cross. On the fateful day, Guet exited an alleyway onto Sunset Road when she saw Quartz running through traffic. She called out to the dog, urging it to go home, but the dog instead lunged at her, biting into her arm.
The attack intensified as the other two dogs, Boss and Smoke, joined in. Guet was thrown to the ground, and the dogs continued to bite her arms and legs. As she screamed for help, members of the public intervened, scaring the dogs away and saving her.
Guet was rushed to the hospital where she required 40 stitches and endured a painful recovery process. She lost a liter of blood and now faces permanent scarring on her arm. Fankhauser, who was at work during the attack, was later charged with multiple offenses under the Dog Control Act, including owning dogs that caused serious injury, failing to register the dogs, and failing to control them. The dogs were destroyed following the incident.
Legal Consequences and Fankhauser’s Sentence
In April, Fankhauser was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court to three months of community detention and 100 hours of community work. He was also ordered to pay Guet $226 in reparation. However, Guet believes the punishment was too lenient, expressing disappointment that the consequences did not reflect the severity of the attack.
Despite the legal action taken against Fankhauser, Guet remains concerned about the ongoing issue of roaming dogs in Rotorua. She regularly sees dogs wandering the streets and fears that nothing substantial has changed to prevent future incidents.
A Life Changed Forever
The psychological and emotional scars of the attack run deep. Guet describes feeling like prey during the assault and believes the dogs would not have stopped if it weren’t for the intervention of bystanders. In hindsight, she regrets not seeking more financial compensation to reflect the full extent of the trauma she endured. The attack not only caused physical pain but also stripped her of her independence. Now, she only walks with her husband and uses her car to get around, instead of walking as she did before.
Her fear of dogs has become so overwhelming that she carries pepper with her at all times while walking. She also has found it difficult to move on from the experience. In the months following the attack, Guet suffered from shingles, a condition she attributes to the trauma she experienced, both physically and mentally.
Despite everything, Guet is trying to stay positive. She is grateful to have survived and reflects that if the attack had happened to a child, the outcome might have been much worse. Still, the trauma remains, and the fear of another attack lingers, as she continues to live with the scars — both seen and unseen — from that fateful day.
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