KEY POINTS:
The worst scar Alex has to show for five years of dealing with some of the most vicious dogs in the country is a tiny speck on her left arm after she was attacked by a pitbull-cross.
The senior animal control officer at Animal Management, the contracted dog
controllers for the Manukau City Council, has been bitten "just a few times" but admits things could have been worse as she tried to help a colleague restrain the dog.
"I didn't have a fear of dogs and thought I could handle them, so I grabbed the dog by the collar but let go. He lashed out and got my arm, although these days you would barely even know it had happened."
Alex, who cannot reveal her surname for safety reasons, got off lightly that day but some of her workmates have not been so fortunate.
"It's the owners we have to be wary of ... We've had [dog] rangers who have been knocked unconscious or chased off properties, others have had spades thrown through their car windows and we ... suffer a lot of abuse.
"It's not our fault their dog bit someone or is causing trouble and it's actually hard when you're getting called any number of names."
The 31-year-old, who emigrated 11 years ago from Cheshire, England, left a "very boring" desk job at Auckland Airport to work in the animal management industry.
It's a decision she hasn't regretted but there are days when she feels she is chasing her own tail.
"Sometimes we will take a dog away from a property and a month later we come back and there's another puppy in the driveway. There are places we visit once a week."
Alex's team deals with dog complaints sent through to the council's call centre.
The team is kept on its toes and in the 12 months to July 3568 dogs - nearly 70 a week - in the Manukau area have been detained.
Just 267 of those were adopted, 1269 were reclaimed by their owners and 2007 were euthanised.
It's the dogs forgotten by their owners that riles Alex. Most of the animals can be kept at the nearby pound for only up to a week before they have to be put down.
"A lot of people in the area get their dogs for nothing so they don't see them as an investment and really couldn't care less about them so they won't pay their fines to get them back.
"Dogs are cute when they're puppies but once they grow they're a bit more work and part of the family. It's a shame it happens because it's not the dog's fault."
Alex says fines probably aren't working as "people will only pay the minimum amount and forget about it".
"People need to be educated about dogs and get a better understanding of them before they really want to take them on as pets ... it's something we're working on."
In light of the publicity surrounding dog attacks some people were "starting to get the message" about aggressive dogs but the team still had many issues to deal with.
"We are starting to see cross-breedings of shar-pei, or Chinese fighting dogs.
"Everyone thinks they're the cute dogs in the toilet paper ads but these ones are dangerous."
In the front line
Name: Alex (surname not given for safety reasons).
Occupation: Senior animal officer.
Age: 31.
Marital status: Single but owns two rottweiler crosses named Axl and Ocean.
Interests: Soccer.
From: Cheshire, England. Supports Manchester United. Immigrated to New Zealand 11 years ago.
