2 August 2017
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Dog bite - owner responsibilities
Inquiry
I'm doing a story about a local man who was bitten by a dog on Clinkard Ave on June 29. The man's son, Kun Jiang, [spoke to us] because his dad doesn't speak English.
Mr Jiang went to the house where the dog came from and got the owner's name and details and passed them on to Animal Control. His father was asked to identify the dog in a line up at the pound but unfortunately he was too shocked at the time and couldn't be sure what the dog looked like.
Mr Jiang is worried this dog could bite again (it jumped a small fence and ran to his father and started biting him as he was biking past) and wants to warn the public.
Questions:
1. What's required to take a prosecution to court? (ie, does a person who was attacked need to identify the dog, is it not enough to say it came from a particular house?)
2. What are the key responsibilities of dog owners?
3. What should you do if your dog bites someone?
4. What should you do if you see a dog you are frightened of?
Response
Response from Animal Control Supervisor Kevin Coutts -
To be able to prosecute an owner of a dog that has been involved in an attack we need to be 100% sure that we have the right dog. This means we need a witness or the victim of an attack to be able to positively identify the dog in question and subsequently give evidence in court. This is usually done by having the victim or the witness point out the dog in a line-up' at the Rotorua pound.
To avoid these types of situations we urge owners to always ensure that their dogs are secured whether it is on their property behind a fence or in some type of kennelling, or on a leash while out in public. Being a responsible owner means following the rules set out in the Dog Control Act such as ensuring your dog is adequately secured on your property or is under your control, registering your dog each year and desexing breeds identified as menacing.
If an incident does occur where a dog has rushed or has bitten someone the best thing to do is report it to Council. Our Animal Control staff are trained to handle these situations and can offer advice and support.
Should someone be faced with a dog they are wary of they should carefully remove themselves from the area and report the dog and its location to Council as soon as possible.