Two defendants in a dog-fighting case claim their pitbull dogs were mating, not fighting, when a witness saw a group of men and two growling dogs in a park and tearfully called the police.
Michael Vaki, 22, and Daniel Takimoana, 22, are before Judge Arjit Singh in the Manukau District Court,
defending charges of encouraging a dog to fight or failing to minimise unnecessary pain or distress in a dog.
Vaki's lawyer, Lorraine Smith, told the court that while it was quite plain the dogs were fighting, they were actually mating.
The bitch called "Girl" was rebutting the advances of the dog, similar to a female black widow spider, which would eat its male partner after mating.
Fiona McKenzie, called by lawyer Barbara McCarthy, prosecuting for the Auckland SPCA, said she was at home in Manurewa on October 8 last year when her dog started barking.
When she calmed her dog down she saw about six men in Beaumount Park behind her property and heard two dogs making fighting noises.
Cross-examined by Ted Faleauto, for Takimoana, Miss McKenzie said she was working for Guide Dog Services at the time and was "very much" upset by what she saw.
Miss McKenzie said that she had seen dogs mating before. She was asked if what she had seen was an unsuccessful attempt at getting dogs to mate.
"Definitely not. They were fighting," Miss McKenzie replied.
Detective Constable Robert Kerr said that when he arrived the bitch was totally dominant.
The big male dog looked "completely knackered".
Auckland SPCA veterinarian Douglas Dreyer inspected both dogs and found them to be suffering from puncture and tear wounds consistent with having been in a fight and that the bitch was not on heat.
The hearing continues today.
