Dog owners to pay for attacks

Two dog owners have been ordered to pay reparation after a miniature horse was mauled to death and dozens of sheep were killed or maimed, an Auckland council said yesterday.

Waitakere City Council prosecuted beneficiaries Anita Masi and Filipo Masi, of Ranui, over attacks by two pitbull terrier cross-breed dogs.

The pair pleaded guilty to two charges each under the Dog Control Act and were sentenced in Waitakere District Court this week.

They were ordered to pay reparation of $1674 for horse replacement, and vet and burial costs. The dogs involved were destroyed.

Ross Dallow, deputy chairman of the council's planning and regulatory committee, said the incidents were horrific and at the higher end of the scale of dog attacks.

He commended the city's animal welfare services staff for an intensive investigation, which included door-to-door visits and 24-hour armed surveillance of paddocks.

The council said the first attack happened in Swanson, on September 10 last year, when 32 sheep were killed and 40 were seriously injured. Many of the injured animals had to be put down.

Two dogs were seen running loose. Two nights later, they returned to kill or maim five more sheep before again escaping.

On January 8, two dogs killed a miniature horse in Swanson. One was shot on sight by the horse's owner, the other was found later by animal welfare staff.

- NZPA