A dog instructor is fighting to have a menacing classification lifted off her show dogs.
In July the Rangitikei District Council told Allison McArthur of Marton her red border terriers, Badger and Molly, would be classified as menacing.
That followed an incident two days earlier when the two dogs were seen chasing sheep in a paddock in Tutaenui Rd by a member of the public who called animal control. After a similar incident in March involving the same dogs the council issued a verbal warning.
Three witnesses gave evidence on Tuesday at a hearing at the council that was triggered after Miss McArthur objected to the classification.
In a written statement to the council hearing panel she said she had been a dog owner all her life, had been an obedience instructor in Wellington for several years and a member of the New Zealand Kennel Club for 25 years. "I believe that I am the epitome of a responsible dog owner as my record and my qualifications show."