Officer's barking mad act over late dog licence

Liesje Bradley with son Brent and dog Monty. Photo / Michael Craig

A woman says a dog control officer broke into her home to seize her dog because his registration was overdue.

Liesje Bradley alleges the officer broke into her Te Atatu home on Tuesday.

She had forgotten to register Monty, a 10-year-old Jack Russell-fox terrier cross, after her son suffered serious head injuries after a scooter accident.

Under the Dog Control Act 1996, dog control officers can seize an unregistered dog, and may enter a property to do so, but they may not enter the owner's "dwelling house".

When contacted yesterday, an Auckland Council spokesman said he would only be able to access information about this case next week.

Bradley admits she should not have let the registration lapse but received the warning notice soon after 9-year-old Brent was admitted to hospital.

In the weeks that followed, as Brent underwent surgery, the $98 fee was the last thing on her mind, she said.

Monty was home alone on Tuesday and was shut inside the house. A neighbour noticed the officer and four or five others at the house and phoned Bradley straight away.

The officer asked the neighbour whether they were "good people", and then agreed to leave without Monty.

Bradley left work to come home immediately and found the front door unlocked and the bedroom window ajar. She found a notice on a dresser stating the officer's name and mobile number.

She was shocked by the officer's actions and felt "violated" that he had been in her home. "We were in the wrong but to cross the line and enter our home through the bedroom window, that's the thing that's so wrong. They couldn't lock our house up after they left, so they left our house open to being burgled."

She said there was no evidence of a search warrant having been issued, nor any complaints against Monty.

Needless to say, Bradley paid Monty's registration that day.