28 April 2020
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Roaming dogs
Enquiry
On Friday morning a Rotorua woman called Katie Peden was out running with her 7-year-old daughter who was on a bike when they were approached by two roaming dogs on Sunset Rd.
The dogs rushed to them and were snarling, jumping up and nipping at them. Thankfully a man who lived in the area came out and helped and yelled at the dogs, who both then rushed to the man and started attacking him. He was able to kick them off with his gumboots, which allowed time for the woman and the little girl to run off.
Katie said she rang Animal Control and one of the owners has apparently been identified.
Katie was really grateful for the response and for the man who helped her. She's keen to just put some messages out about ensuring dogs are tied up and if you're out on the streets, teaching your kids what to do if approached by a dog. Thankfully she was able to keep her daughter calm and tell her not to scream or flap her arms around, which possibly helped in this situation.
Are you able to let me know the outcome of the incident? Did you manage to track down both dogs and what happened to them/their owners? Also, do you have any messages to the public given there are a lot of people/dogs on the street at the moment.
Response
From Animal Control team lead Dylan Wright:
Council received an anonymous complaint about two rushing dogs on Friday 24 April.
One of our team members attended at the address provided and was able to locate one dog. The dog's owner advised the second was a neighbourhood dog and was not able to provide an address for where it lives.
Due to the witness wishing to remain anonymous, we are limited to any further actions we can take. To be able to issue an infringement we must have a witness. This is to ensure that if an owner disputes the offence, Council is able to provide a credible witness in court.
During Alert Level 4 it's been disappointing to see that animal control issues have not decreased. With the majority of people at home, they should know where their dogs are and these incidents should be minimal.
All dog owners have a responsibility to have their dogs secured and under control. Sadly, it usually ends up being the dogs and other members of the public that are the ones affected by irresponsible owners.
Key information (please note COVID-19 Alert levels has affected how Animal Control officers response to some issues):
- If you own a dog it is your responsibility to make sure it is secured on your own property at all times.
- Roaming dogs should be reported to Council as soon as possible. Often people post pictures and information on private social media pages which means officers are not aware of roaming dog issues. If dogs are reported to Council, officers can attend sooner and are more likely to pick up the dog(s).
- When reporting a dog (if safe to do so) a photograph of the dog and/or a detailed description of the breed and if known, the address from which the dog emerged or is known to live, is useful. This information will help animal control staff to follow up as appropriate.
- If you see a roaming dog it is important to try and distance yourself from the dog but do not run. If possible get behind a solid object such as a fence, inside your home if you are on your own property or get to your car if it is nearby.
Animal Control - Alert Level 3
- During Alert Level 3 Animal Control officers will be attending priority jobs only such as attacks, stock wandering on roads, and collecting dogs that have been found roaming and have been secured by a member of the public (these dogs will now be impounded under Alert Level 3 rather than being returned home as they were under Alert Level 4). All other jobs will be followed up via phone. Officers that attend urgent jobs will be following strict guidelines such as asking screening questions and avoiding contact with people they deal with.
- We encourage people to continue to phone Animal Control issues through to Council on 07 348 4199 as they normally would outside of COVID-19 Alert levels
