Action sought over dog attack
A Nelson woman is dismayed that a neighbourhood dog which fatally mauled her beloved 18-year-old pet is still running free.
Jackie Galland’s Jack Russell terrier-chihuahua cross, Buddy, was attacked in Galland’s backyard by another dog on the morning of January 22. After eight days and multiple surgeries, Buddy died, leaving Galland heartbroken.
Galland said she had made many complaints to dog control, and was ‘‘disgusted’’ at the lack of action to impound the dog responsible.
However, the Nelson City Council says dog control officers visited the owner’s property several times but were unable to locate either the offending dog or its owner.
Buddy was severely mauled in the attack, while Galland was bitten on one of her forearms as she tried to separate the dogs.
‘‘At 5.30am in the morning, it’s the last thing you expect to wake up to,’’ she said.
‘‘I let my dog out to go to the toilet. I just opened the door, not thinking there was something in my backyard.’’
Soon afterwards, she heard a horrific scream, and went outside to see Buddy being attacked.
While trying to remove the other dog from the property, it latched on to her arm and ‘‘had a good chew’’ before running off.
Galland said that when she took Buddy to a vet in the morning, she hadn’t realised how bad his injuries were.
‘‘It wasn’t until later that day, when they’d shaved him, when I realised the extent of the damage, which was about three-quarters of his body. He had about 60 stitches holding him together.’’
Galland also had to go to a doctor twice a day for about a week, to get dressings for the bites and make sure they hadn’t become infected.
‘‘Buddy was extremely healthy, even though he had some problems in the past,’’ she said. ‘‘Every time something happened to Buddy, you’d think it might be his time, but he kept popping back up.
‘‘I can’t thank the vets enough for what they did. They went way above and beyond for him – they knew how precious he was to me.’’
Galland said dog control found out by mid-February which dog was responsible for the attack and where it lived. She had been told that the dog ‘‘had a history’’, and that its owner was also considered dangerous and not to be approached without police present.
She said that after multiple meetings with dog control, she had been assured that the situation would be taken care of. ‘‘This has been four weeks they’ve known about it, and they’ve done nothing.’’
The council’s group manager for environmental management, Clare Barton, said dog control officers had visited the property on several occasions to make further inquiries, but not been able to locate either the dog or the owner.
‘‘This is an active investigation for our dog control officers. We take all reports of attacks against dogs very seriously.’’
Galland said she had seen the dog at the property as recently as Saturday.
She said she just wanted some justice for her companion of 16 years, who she had rescued from abusive owners when he was two years old.
‘‘He was a right mess when I got him – you’d raise your voice, and he’d shake and be scared and hide behind chairs, but after about six months he decided he was bulletproof.
‘‘Buddy was an old man who thought he was still a two-year-old. He just loved everyone and everything – that’s pretty much how he lived his life.’’