Horrific dog attack highlights systemic Queenstown weaknesses

A manager with respected Queenstown company Cook Brothers has told Crux of a nightmare experience with a dog attack - and what she believes is a local council system that makes the incident far worse for her as a victim.

Laurel Savage was on site at the new Pavilion restaurant in Frankton on May 1 last year. The restaurant construction project was complete and was being handed over to the owner.

“One of the subcontractors, a plumber, had his dog off the leash. My friend knew the dog and called the dog over for a pat. The dog just veered off, came flying at me, jumped up bit me on the bum. And I turned around and then he jumped up, grabbed my arm, and then two guys pulled him off me.”

“I said to the guys, do not let him go. Don’t let him go. Because I thought if he got loose, he’d hit me from behind. And if he got me on the ground, he’d kill me.”

• Laurel’s wounds from the attack required 100 stitches. An image of the initial wound is vividly graphic and some people may find it upsetting. For that reason Crux has published the image remotely via this link - we believe this is in the public interest to demonstrate the severity of the attack.

“The lady from work whipped me around to the hospital ‘cause it was a lot quicker than getting an ambulance. And then of course they’re on strike. So I sat there for five hours and they cleaned it up and plastered it. Then I had to drive all the way down to Kew Hospital in Invercargill. I sat there in Accident and Emergency for a day before the operation. I got over a hundred stitches. I was in Kew hospital for two days.”

Mrs Savage said two different doctors she spoke to, in Queenstown and Invercargill, felt that if she was a child she would have been killed by the dog.

She also felt QLDC made things much worse for her.

“Queenstown council said they couldn’t believe the severity of the attack. Yet they let this guy keep his dog. I mean, I understand he loves his dog and I do feel very sorry for him. My husband had to take day off work so that we could find a JP to get my statement signed before they’d even consider anything. Like I’m the victim. I’m winding up with all these backpackers who are trying to get their passport witnessed.”

“You know, like, I should have been in bed resting, but we have to do that before we can do anything. It’s just so wrong.”

The man who owns the dog, plumber Jasper Chong, pleaded guilty in the Queenstown District Court on November 17 2025 to a charge of owning a dog that on or around May 1 2025 caused injury.

But then the sentencing of Mr Chong was delayed until June 15, 2026 due to the limited availability of the judge.

Crux has seen extensive correspondence between Laurel Savage and the QLDC including the office of mayor John Glover.

Laurel Savage believes the dog should be destroyed.

“One of the court stipulations was he (the dog owner) had to have the dog neutered. And I said to the council, well, is it being neutered? And they wouldn’t tell me. They said, ‘we can’t discuss the dog with you.’”

“The lady at QLDC I was dealing with, she said to me, ‘I can assure you this dog will not bite anyone else.’ And I said, Yeah. Well how do you know that?”

QLDC issued the following statement to Crux.

“We continue to maintain open communication with the victim. It is inaccurate and misleading to suggest Council has not taken any action in this case.

“QLDC acted rapidly to get the case before the court. It has since been up to the court to progress. Once a case is before the court, Council is legally restricted from commenting on specific details.”

“We therefore await the court’s decision which it will make publicly available here once sentencing is complete. At that point we will be able to provide a more detailed statement about this case and the action that QLDC has taken. Section 10A Reports, detailing our dog control policies and practices over previous financial years, are publicly available on our website here.”