JANUARY
KOHITATEA 2024
Bite leads to no more bark by Ann Packer It’s a dog-owner’s worst nightmare. You’ve got your little furbaby on a lead, on an area of the beach where there are hardly any other dogs to be seen. You stop to admire someone else’s pooch – and while your back is turned, your little one is suddenly surrounded by not one but three large dogs. That’s what happened to Muritai dog owners Jane and Richard Thompson, on Boxing Day, on the beach near the RSA. Jane had stopped to admire a handsome white dog – “not a Staffordshire, much larger than that”. Her husband Richard still had their 18-month-old miniature schnauzer, Saffa, on his lead. By the time Jane turned round, three more dogs of the same breed, almost identical, had closed in on Saffa. “One had him by the throat, down on the ground, while the other three took turns at his back legs,” says Richard. “He was sandwiched in between. It all happened so quickly – they were working as a pack.” The dogs’ owner intervened and managed to prise open the jaws from Saffa’s throat. Richard somehow managed to hold on to the dog, with its lead, but thought Saffa must surely be dying. Jane ran home to get the car, while Richard carried the gurgling, bleeding Saffa up the beach, and they raced to the emergency vet – it was a public holiday so their own was not available. The schnauzer had to be sedated before anyone could attend to him, and stay overnight.
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Excitement downwind in 25 knots at the Paper Tiger Nationals. Sail 2943 (left) is local sailor John Tattersall. In the background, the blue boat has capsized. Photo: Chris Crawford.
While their dog was alive, the damage was extensive – there was a hole in his windpipe, a torn ear, bites on his back, legs and genitals. Next morning, they had to take him to their own vet and work out a game plan. All of which added up to a huge expense. They cancelled a planned holiday and hunkered down till New Year's Day, when the uncharacteristically timid Saffa finally wagged his tail for the first time. Determined to locate the offenders, the Thompsons reported the incident to HCC Dog Control – a statement, the vet’s report and photos of the injuries – but all they had to go on was the white dog’s name, as a result of the conversation Jane had had with its female handler, and the location. However, Jane’s posts on Facebook were copied to the Petone and Lower Hutt neighbourhood pages
and they may be well on the way to identifying the culprits. What would they like to see happen should they be successful? Jane would like to see the dogs removed from the offending owners’ possession, and some compensation for the vet bills incurred as a result. And she would like dogs to be required to be on leads. “I’m not vindictive but I would like to see results,” she says. The incident has changed the way both feel about other dogs. Richard has never felt bothered about large dogs before – as the owner previously of a schnauzer he had never had a problem – but he looks twice now. As for Jane, if she hears a dog bark, “I go cold”. And Saffa? Well, he’s recovered his bounce – but not his bark.
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