Dog owner fights council despite losing his pooch

A High Court judge has questioned why a Whangarei man is appealing the destruction of his dog which attacked a postie - when his prized pooch had already been put down.

Jerran Puru pleaded guilty in the Whangarei District Court to one charges of being the owner of a dog that attacked a person and another of failing to register a dog and was fined $300 in November last year.

The court ordered his tan and white pitbull terrier Paco be put down after it bit a postie who went to deliver a parcel at Puru's home on Buchanan St in Hikurangi on March 23 last year.

The dog was unrestrained when it attacked the postie who required an X-ray and a tetanus shot.

Puru, 29, filed an appeal in the High Court at Whangarei shortly after an order for the destruction of the dog was made by Judge Colin Doherty in November.

He appeared in the High Court this month to inform Justice Simon Moore whether or not he managed to obtain legal representation.

Puru said the Legal Aid Agency declined to fund his appeal because the maximum penalties for the charges he pleaded guilty to in the District Court were not imprisonment.

Justice Moore asked what remedies Puru were seeking from the High Court given the fact his dog had already been destroyed.

"This court, on an appeal of this sort, has very little it can do. The remedies are just about nothing," he told Puru.

The dog owner replied he felt there was no need for Paco to be destroyed.

Puru said an order for Paco's destruction was made despite him highlighting important issues to Judge Doherty, including claims a witness for the Whangarei District Council, lied.

"My point is I don't think I've been treated fairly," Puru said.

Justice Moore set down one hour for Puru's appeal to be heard on June 6.