Concession for 'animal lover's' curfew

The dog's kennel near where Janice Marshall shot the animal. Photo / Paul Taylor

A seemingly jovial Hawke's Bay woman, who was convicted of ill treating animals after shooting her neighbour's dog between the eyes, asked a judge to adjust her curfew to allow her to feed her beloved animals.

Janice Marshall, of Te Hauke, appeared in the Hastings District Court yesterday for sentencing after pleading guilty to assaulting a person with a firearm and ill-treatment of an animal last month.

The "tribal war" incident on November 25 last year, which resulted in the deployment of armed police, began following allegations that the 60-year-old Marshall's five sheep and three ducks had been killed by her neighbour's dog.

About 6.30pm, Marshall decided to take action and approached her neighbour's home with an air gun and shot the bull mastiff cross once in the face, wounding the pet.

A "violent struggle" ensued as the neighbour attempted to wrestle the gun from Marshall and was struck in the head by the butt of the gun, before armed police responded and found Marshall at her home waving the gun about and "threatening to shoot [her neighbour] and [the] dog".

Marshall's lawyer, Eric Forster, said his client accepted she "overreacted" and did herself no favours whatsoever in a long-standing dispute between the two neighbours, who are also cousins.

Yesterday, Judge Claire Ryan said: "The worst thing about this is it appears to have happened on Ms Marshall's birthday," to which Marshall laughed.

The neighbour, whose pet was unregistered and was later taken to the pound, said in a victim impact statement that she was upset and angry and "misses her dog".

As Judge Ryan sentenced Marshall to 75 hours' community work and two months' community detention, the self-described "animal lover" asked if her curfew could be adjusted by the judge to allow her to feed her remaining animals in the morning and evening.

Judge Ryan permitted the change. The judge also ordered the destruction of the weapon used in the incident.