Supreme Court declines to hear appeal for Auckland husky set to be destroyed

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of Aspen the husky, which was ordered to be destroyed one year ago. Photo / Supplied

The owners of Aspen, a husky which was ordered to be destroyed after he got loose and killed two other pets on Auckland's North Shore, will not be allowed to argue their case to the Supreme Court.

It's been one year since Alexandra and Graham Johnston faced off with Auckland City Council at the North Shore District Court for a judge-alone trial that resulted in the couple's conviction.

They were ordered to pay reparations to the other animal owners and a fine. But the Dog Control Act also requires that Aspen, which was rescued by the couple and their son four years ago, be destroyed.

The Johnstons first appealed to the High Court at Auckland last year and in December Justice Edwin Wylie upheld the convictions.

The latest appeal to the Supreme Court attempted to "leapfrog" the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court Justices William Young, Susan Glazebrook and Mark O'Regan noted this week in a four-page judgment explaining why the court won't consider the case.

"...This Court must not grant leave for a leapfrog appeal unless satisfied...that there are exceptional circumstances justifying taking the proposed appeal directly to this Court," the justices wrote.

"We are not satisfied that it is in the interests of justice to grant leave to appeal."

Aspen with the Johnstons' son. Photo / Supplied

Aspen first got in trouble for chasing chickens in August 2019. Nine months later he was again off his lead near Waiake Beach in Torbay when he killed a chicken at the same property where he had earlier chased chooks. He then ran to a neighbouring property and killing a child's pet guinea pig named Bert.

Alexandra Johnston has argued in the past that it is out of proportion to order a dog put down for killing a guinea pig or a chicken when it poses no danger to humans. It is in dogs' nature to chase smaller animals, just as cats sometimes kill birds, she has said.

"It has become bigger than our dog," she said during the High Court hearing last year. "It is an issue for all dog owners - they are being prosecuted for dogs being dogs.

"You are crucifying dogs that are good dogs."

But lawyer Lanu Faletau, appearing on behalf of Auckland Council, pointed out during the same hearing that facts of the case simply weren't in the Johnstons' favour.

"The Dog Control Act is a public safety act," she said. "The onus is on dog owners ... to have control of the dogs at all times.

"In the current instance, it's quite clear from the evidence the dog was not controlled in any shape or form."