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Warning comes too late
July 21, 2006
A MAN whose family's three dogs attacked and killed a young NSW girl has warned owners of other hunting dogs not to trust "the bastards".
Four-year-old Tyra Kuehne went missing from her family home in Warren, near Dubbo, and was found in the yard of a nearby family friend's house at about 7.30pm on Wednesday.
She had severe injuries to her head, neck and torso.
Six crossbred hunting dogs were held in the yard but police believe only three attacked the girl.
She was taken, in critical condition, to Warren Hospital for emergency treatment but died just after 3am yesterday.
Tom Wilson, who had found the girl in his back yard, said he thought of her as a daughter.
"We've lost a little angel. She is like a daughter to me," he said.
"It's an unfortunate thing. No one home, a little girl got into the yard.
"My advice to anyone with pig dogs, regardless of what breed they are, don't trust the bastards."
He said the girl was at his house "every day" and knew the dogs.
"I thought, they're my boy's dogs . . . I thought you could trust any one of them," Mr Wilson said.
National RSPCA president Dr Hugh Wirth said he hoped authorities would "throw the book" at the owner.
"I am angry about this. Dog behaviour is clearly predictable and the RSPCA thinks the dog owner ought to be responsible," Dr Wirth said.
"I don't know NSW law, but I hope it is rather like Victorian law, where the owner is responsible, and they throw the book at the owner because they have clearly done nothing to prevent this from happening."
The cross-breed hunting dogs responsible for the attack should have been securely penned, Dr Wirth said.
"Here we have a four-year-old who has strayed into the neighbour's yard, who the dogs probably know, and she has done something innocently that has caused the dogs to attack.
"Why was a child allowed anywhere near them?
"Why were they not locked up in a proper dog enclosure so no child or adult could come near them?"
Acting Commander of the Darling River Local Command Alan Cusack said the girl had been playing in the same yard only earlier that day.
"These were family friends involved and the child had actually been in the yard earlier that day. There had been no incident but it appears she's wandered back in on her own later on that evening," he said.
"Unfortunately, then the attacks occurred."
Commander Cusack said the death was a terrible thing for the girl's family and their friends.
"It's a dreadful thing for the people of Warren and especially the families involved," he said.
"We've spent some time with the family and they're in utter shock."
The owner of the dogs has not been named.
He said police would now prepare a report for the coroner and a decision would be made on what to do with the hunting dogs.