A Māngere woman who used to love taking her six-year-old Bichon Gizmo out for walks is now afraid to leave her property after several run-ins with uncontrolled dogs.
Neel, 40, has lived in the South Auckland suburb for almost a decade.
She is known in her neighbourhood as Gizmo's mum, but says stepping out of the yard is now "mentally quite a challenge because you never know when you're going to get attacked".
The first time a dog attacked Neel in June 2022, it caused severe, long-term injuries.
"I had chunks of my hair missing.
