An Auckland councillor was bitten by a dog as she tried to wrestle it away from her “beloved” elderly pet pooch during an attack on a city footpath.
Josephine Bartley and her aunty were walking her shih tzu Milo home yesterday, when a “big, aggro, muscly” dog dragging a chain ran from a driveway, charged past her and attacked the small canine.
The Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward councillor tried to wrestle the dog off Milo before its owner arrived, Bartley said in a Facebook post detailing the frightening incident.
Bartley was bitten during the attack and hurt her knee, she said.
“I checked Milo’s body for any puncture wounds, but I couldn’t tell if it was my blood or Milo’s blood.”
The man “took off in his car with the dog”, so Bartley could not get his details.
After taking Milo to the vet, Bartley was told he was “very lucky” to come away with no visible wounds, but to monitor him for lung damage.
“He is on pain relief and he is very shaken up.”
It was “unacceptable” that Milo couldn’t walk in his own neighbourhood without being attacked, said Bartley.
“I honestly thought he was gonna be killed by this dog.”
Bartley said she was “beyond angry” that the man drove off.
“This man treated it like nothing, that his dog could have killed my dog.”
She reported the attack to animal management. Auckland Council has confirmed they are investigating.
Bartley got a tetanus shot at an accident and emergency clinic after taking Milo to the vet.
The incident prompted Bartley to write a strongly worded letter to Local Government Minister Simon Watts to advocate for changes to the Dog Control Act.
She said a previous letter sent last year led to no action.
“What is it going to take for you and your Government to listen and to act?” the letter said.
“Children will continue to be mauled by dogs and have their ripped up faces in media articles, why doesn’t that affect you, why doesn’t that make you do something besides hide behind these gutless bureaucratic excuses.
“I am not taking political pot shots here I am angry, I am angry that myself and everyone one else in my neighbourhood, in my area, in areas with roaming dogs, are not safe to just take their beloved dog for a walk.
“Yes we can say it’s the owners, they are irresponsible but Minister it is now at the point where you are irresponsible for not doing something about this.”
Watts said he was “saddened” to hear of the attack.
Councils have a range of powers under the Dog Control Act, and he expected “councils to continue using the tools they have while we work together on the broader response”, he said.
“I acknowledge the role Government has to play, and I have been clear that we are exploring options to address this. This is a serious issue, and I will be setting out our response to roaming and uncontrolled dogs very shortly.”
Auckland Council general manager of licensing and compliance, Robert Irvine said the council was “saddened to hear about the attack on Councillor Bartley and her beloved dog Milo”.
“She knows only too well the challenge that we are facing across Tāmaki Makaurau with roaming dogs, dog attacks and all of the effects of increasing dog numbers. We are thankful that Milo and Cr Bartley are okay, but mindful that this could have been much worse for both of them, which is simply not [okay].”
Bartley had been advocating for councils to have stronger powers to help contain dogs, enable mandatory desexing and manage the issue, Irvine told the Herald.
The incident follows a spate of dog attacks, including a Northland woman being killed by three dogs in February.
The attack prompted Bartley to write an editorial, published in the Herald, calling for reform to New Zealand’s dog control laws.
Irvine said the council had invested $10m in the past year to tackle the issue.
The money was spent on establishing an in-house dog desexing clinic, expanding shelters and running campaigns.
Infringements had increased from 6000 in 2024 to 17,000 last year, Irvine said.
“All of this is contributing to solving the problem, but with Dog Control Act changes, we could be more effective.”
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said his thoughts were with Bartley and Milo.
“This is yet another example of why government needs to step up and change the laws to deal with the out-of-control dog problem in Auckland.”
Bartley had been at the forefront of the council’s push for change, which he supported, Brown said.
Changes to the Dog Control Act they called for included:
“We need these changes to get on top of this issue, but the Government says there’s no time to get this through this parliamentary term which, frankly, is not good enough.”
Bartley has been approached for further comment.