KEY POINTS:
A woman who sentenced to six months jail after her two dogs attacked an elderly man has successfully appealed her sentence.
Helen Marion Mackenzie was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on September 21, 2006 after being convicted last month of two breaches of the Dog Control Act. She was given two months to apply for home detention but appealed against the sentence.
In the High Court at Auckland in December, Judge Patricia Courtney overturned the sentence and imposed 150 hours of community work.
In a written judgement, she argued that the circumstances of the case were not dissimilar to a case in Manukau in which a person was sentenced to 150 hours community service.
When she was ordered to jail, the sentence of Ms MacKenzie was believed to be the heaviest since tougher penalties for dog owners were introduced in December 2003 after the attack on 7-year-old Carolina Anderson.
The Glendowie woman was prosecuted after her two greyhound cross dogs - Jesse and James - attacked 74-year-old Paul Kelly at her home last September.
Mr Kelly arrived at the property, which was fully fenced with warning signs, for a prearranged business meeting but no one answered the front door.
As he went through an unlocked gate that led to the back section the dogs attacked his thighs and arms, tore skin from his hands and bit his wrist through to the bone.
Mackenzie tried to get the dogs off Mr Kelly, then took him to a clinic before returning home and having her pets put down.
Mr Kelly spent nine days recovering in Middlemore Hospital and has permanent nerve damage.
The Auckland City Council said Mackenzie had previously been convicted and fined after the same dogs bit another person.
After that attack at least one of the dogs was classified as menacing and dangerous and had to be muzzled while in public.
Council service request manager Jackie Wilkinson said that while the attack on Mr Kelly occurred within Mackenzie's property and there were warning signs, the gate to the yard was unlocked.
It was her responsibility to make sure it was locked or the dogs were secured so no one could be injured.
Councillor Glenda Fryer said the sentence handed down to Mackenzie was a timely reminder to dog owners that they must keep their pets under control.
"Owners can pay a high price for having an aggressive dog that seriously harms someone and they need to be sure that their dogs are socialised and well trained. Having a fully-fenced property and warning signs is not enough."
Ms Fryer said there were many reasons for members of the public to go on to another person's property and they had the right to expect to be safe.
However, Mackenzie's lawyer, Gregor Morison, said Mr Kelly had been given instructions on how to enter the property but ignored them - and five warning signs - by going through the gate.
Mr Morison said his client was "extremely upset and emotional" over the ruling and had been on medication for depression and unable to work since the attack. She was considering an appeal.
"There is a strong likelihood she would want this decision on conviction and sentence to be tested by a higher court," he said.
While Mackenzie had some support from her elderly father, she was a solo mother in her 50s with a handicapped son to care for and after running a business was now a beneficiary.
A student homestay business at the address where the attack occurred had suffered significantly and she had not been able to work for a year, he said.
Dog-attack sentences
Feb 2004: Brian Hill and Thomas Owen sentenced to two months' jail after their dog attacked seven-year-old Carolina Anderson.
Dec 2004: A woman was sentenced to four months' jail after her dog ripped part of a 66-year-old woman's ear off but granted leave to apply for home detention. Sentence understood to be reduced to 150 hours' community service on appeal.
Sept 2006: Helen Mackenzie sentenced to six months' jail but granted leave to apply for home detention after her two dogs attacked Paul Kelly, 74, leaving him with permanent nerve damage.
