Too dangerous for dog ranger

ON THE LOOSE: Stray dogs have sparked a number of complaints in Wanganui lately.PHOTO/FILE

Animal control officers took three days to respond to a dog attack complaint in Castlecliff because they feared for their safety.

And the owners have been allowed to keep the dogs allegedly involved in the incident despite them not being registered.

Wanganui District Council confirmed that on June 7 a Castlecliff man rang Animal Control about a "potential attack" on his dog by three dogs from one Castlecliff address.

In a written response to inquiries from the Chronicle, council deputy strategy and development manager Jonathan Barrett said: "The Animal Control Officer on duty made a call about whether to visit the household ...

"There was only one animal control officer on duty and he decided not to visit the household where the dogs lived due to safety concerns."

It took until June 10 for any action, when an animal control officer "who was familiar with the owner of the dogs warned them about their behaviour".

"The dogs were unregistered but the staff member has since entered them into the council system and an invoice for registration has been sent to the owner," Mr Barrett said.

Following a spate of incidents involving roaming dogs, Mr Barrett spoke to the Chronicle this week.

With regard to the June incident, he said the animal officer had to assess the risk at the time.

On the owners facing no penalty as yet, Mr Barrett said officers had some discretion and there were a number of ways to deal with such situations, including removing the dogs and fines.

"We have to try and build relationships to get compliance," he said. "I wouldn't pre-judge what the next step is."

Mr Barrett denied the owners were getting away with it and said complaints needed to be treated on a case-by-case basis. "It might just take us longer to get a fair outcome."

In a situation where officers feared for their safety, approaching the household with more than one officer or with police officers could be an option, he said.

"With these sort of things there are always lessons to be learnt," Mr Barrett said.