Number of dogs in city rises to 18,190
DUNEDIN is going to the dogs.
The number of canine companions in the city rose by 160 in the year ending June
30, bringing the total number to 18,190.
The city’s annual report to the Department of Internal Affairs said the majority of owners were ‘‘generally very compliant’’ in terms of not exercising their dogs in prohibited areas, and using a leash where they should.
But the Dunedin City Council report said there were 2668 complaints, including ones related to aggressive, attacking, barking or wandering dogs.
Of those, 28% were in relation to barking.
The report to the planning and environment committee, set to be discussed on Tuesday, said due to the high number of complaints received annually, animal services officers were employing ‘‘bark boxes’’ to record barking.
Three new devices were bought in the past year.
‘‘This device has been found to be invaluable when dealing with these complaints, particularly when dog owners are not home and do not realise how often their dogs are barking.’’
Two hundred and twentyseven dogs were impounded over the 12month period, down by 49 on the previous year.
A total of 565 infringement notices were issued, a decrease of 67 from the previous 12 months.
Three owners were prosecuted for a breach of the Dog Control Act.
The report said Dunedin had 21 dogs classified as dangerous and 201 as menacing, 29 of those classified in the past year.
Dog parks remained popular, the nine available garnering positive public feedback.