Vet puts down child-attack dog

A veterinarian says she put down a dog that mauled a toddler in Masterton.

Former New Zealand Olympic boss Bill Garlick had been ordered to surrender the dog by 5pm on Wednesday, and there were doubts yesterday about whether he had complied with the court order.

Featherston police said they were investigating Garlick's failure to surrender the dog, and reports that the golden retriever had been put down at the Garlick family home.

But vet Heidi Ward-McGrath confirmed that she had given the dog, named Sam, a lethal injection at the house.

Garlick was fined $1000 on Tuesday and ordered to hand over the dog for destruction.

Sam had mauled 2-year-old Jacob Rapira-Davies.

Garlick said yesterday that he had called the vet to carry out the deed at his home on Wednesday afternoon.

"The whole issue has been devastating for everyone connected to it, but Sam's premature death last night closes the matter," he said.

"To avoid such a horrible sequence of events occurring to anyone else, we urge all dog-owners to better understand their dog's behaviour and to remember that even the most placid dogs do bite in some circumstances."

Jacob received 65 stitches in his face after he was bitten by the 8-year-old dog.

The attack occurred while Jacob and his parents were visiting from Australia to attend a wedding.

Garlick, 50, had originally intended to plead not guilty to the charge but changed his plea last month.

In court, Garlick's lawyer, John Billington, QC, argued that Sam should not be destroyed because a canine psychologist had assessed the dog and concluded it was a "perfectly normal golden retriever" with a low predisposition to attack.

But Judge Geoff Ellis disagreed and ordered the dog destroyed.

Garlick said the dog control laws in New Zealand were of a "draconian nature" and warned owners to make themselves aware of the rules.

Dr Ward-McGrath said Sam had been scheduled to be put down at her clinic but Garlick had asked that Sam be injected in front of the fire with family members present.

- NZPA