Owners rally to challenge dog control after attack | Northland News | Local News in Northland

A dogfight is developing over allegations that Whangarei District Council contractor Environment Northland is "over-zealous and trigger-happy" when dealing with complaints about dogs.

The canine controversy is emerging at the same time as dog control has come under the national spotlight following the death of a Murupara woman attacked by two dogs on Saturday.

The growling was muted when dog owners turned up en masse for a council meeting in Whangarei last week. Nearly 40 people packed an environmental services committee meeting, the largest public attendance at a council meeting for many months.

The crowd sat quietly for about 40 minutes and left without comment. They were "just learning what's going on", according to council critic Warren Slater, who said he would stand against Mayor Pamela Peters on dog issues in October's elections.

Mr Slater and the other protesters had answered an advertisement placed by German yachtsman Heinz-Juergen Scheld, 59, and his wife Beatrice, appealing for people who had "bad experience" with animal management to contact them.

The couple had more than 100 replies from people claiming insensitive treatment by the council and its "over-zealous and trigger-happy" contractor, which was accused of destroying dogs without telling owners.

The Schelds arrived in Whangarei in December on board their 20-metre steel ketch Spirit of Assy, now undergoing a $300,000 refit.

They placed the ad after their seadog Sunny attacked a sheep named Baby Girl, with the young ewe receiving a bloodied rear leg.

The Schelds thought their five-year-old Siberian husky was just being "playful" when he bailed up the sheep in a creek at the end of Dundas Rd in Whangarei on March 9.

But Mary Haley had lost a lamb savaged by an Alaskan malamute a week earlier. When she saw Sunny on top of one of the remaining two sheep grazing her property, she phoned a dog control officer for help.

The officer photographed the injured sheep, saw Mr and Mrs Scheld - who claimed Sunny had slipped his lead - and impounded the unregistered dog when he emerged from bush.

Baby Girl's leg wound bled heavily, covering much of the sheep in blood and leading some council officials who saw the photos to believe the animal's throat had been torn out. However, Mrs Haley said a wash had revealed the sheep's only injury was "a couple of teeth-marks" on a rear leg.

The Schelds had offered to pay for a veterinarian to treat Baby Girl and had given Mrs Haley a bottle of wine along with their apologies.

Mrs Haley had decided not to proceed with her complaint, which could have led to the dog being put down.

Instead, after three days in the pound, Sunny was released when the Schelds paid Environment Northland $167 - $80 for impounding, $57 for registration and $30 for pound accommodation.

A few days later the Schelds received three fines totalling $700 - $300 for no registration, $200 for failing to keep their dog on a leash and $200 for it attacking the sheep.

The penalties seemed steep to the German pair, who had paid about $4000 to have Sunny and their cat Sheila quarantined on arrival in New Zealand and said no-one had told them the dog had to be registered. They also claimed Sunny was in poor health when he left the "filthy" pound, where they thought he may have been beaten. They spent $636 getting him treated by a vet.

But Environment Northland boss Keith Thompson said the pound kennels were cleaned daily and nearby Whangarei SPCA officials did spot checks without notice. He said pound staff would not ill-treat animals, and had never been accused of doing so in his nine years with the pound.

Council communications manager Ann Midson said the fines imposed on the Schelds were at levels set by the government in the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004.

The act authorised anyone to shoot a dog they caught attacking sheep, and required overseas dogs to be registered after quarantine.

Many people were angry when their dogs were impounded and they had to pay to get them back, Ms Midson said. "People working in dog and noise control need robust personalities and the ability to deal with upset people in confrontational situations daily," she said.

Mr Scheld said he was going to hire a hall for a public meeting to discuss dog control laws.