After seeing our earlier post, another Awanui Drive resident told us that she had a similar experience — in this case a neighborhood dog came onto her property and mauled her cat.  In this incident the cat survived, but a $1,000 vet bill was involved.

In its webpage on dogs, the KCDC makes clear that owners are expected to “keep their dogs under control or risk fines of up to $3,000”

In its full policy on dog control downloadable here (pdf file), the KCDC states that under the Dog Control Act its duties are:-

(a) to make better provision for the care and control of dogs –

i. by requiring the registration of dogs; and

ii. by making special provision in relation to dangerous or menacing dogs; and

iii. by imposing on the owners of dogs, obligations designed to ensure that dogs do not -cause a nuisance to any person nor injure, endanger, or cause distress to any person; and

iv. by imposing on owners of dogs obligations designed to ensure that dogs do not injure, endanger, or cause distress to any other dog, stock, poultry, domestic animal, or protected wildlife; and

(b) to make provision in relation to damage caused by dogs. Council has the requirement to manage most of the provisions in the Act.

In regard to leashes, the policy states:

1. (a) Dogs on public roads, which include footpaths and private ways, are to be under leash control by a person capable of controlling the dog. Leashes should not be excessively long (i.e. [they should be] less than 2 metres) and should be properly attached to a correctly fitting collar or harness (section 20(1)(b) and (c) of the Act).

(b) Dogs on public places, unless categorised as a no-dog or dog off-leash zone should be kept on-leash at all times (section 20(1)(c) of the Act).

The full policy document gives locations of restriction zones as well as maps.

One thing which the policy doesn’t do is require owners to clean up droppings from their dogs in public places and this needs to be addressed.

We do not want to be seen as being hard on people’s pet pooches, but owners have to perform their legal and moral duties.