Vicious dog is allowed to live
A menacing Porirua dog is no longer a threat, but no thanks to animal control officers, says a Tawa resident.
The pitbull- mastiff that attacked Grant Stone’s 9-year-old border collie in April has since died, but he said it should have been put down.
A council spokesman said the attack was borderline, and council officers did not lightly remove pets from their owners.
A regular caregiver was walking Mr Stone’s dog, Jaksy, on her lead along Kotuku St in Elsdon when the bull- mastiff charged across the road. It bit Jaksy in the neck and pinned her to the ground. The caregiver was bitten on the thigh when she attempted to prise it off.
The attack only ended when a passerby pulled the dogs apart.
A teenage boy claimed ownership of the dog and provided his address.
Although animal control officers photographed Jaksy and his walker’ s injuries, after investigating the case they notified Mr Stone the dog would not be put down, but in future it would be muzzled in public and would be tied on its owner’s property.
Although the dog’s owner has written an apology and paid the vet’s bill for Jaksy’s care, Mr Stone was not satisfied.
He wanted the dog destroyed.
‘‘I’m not happy with it at all,’’ he said. ‘‘What if it had been a young kiddy? Would it have been a different result?’’
Mr Stone said if someone had not stepped in to help the consequences could have been much more serious.
Council animal control staff told him he could take a private prosecution if he was not satisfied, but that it would be costly with no guarantee of a result.
They said the caregiver should not have attempted to separate the dogs.
Because this was a borderline situation, an offence notice was issued by Porirua City Council to the owner classifying the dog as ‘‘menacing’’ but not seeking its destruction.