Hackles rising over dog backlash

By CATHERINE MASTERS

Dr Cathy Casey's Chinese Crested Powder Puff is the kind of small dog that runs away from cats.

But when it comes to the backlash against dogs, size and disposition mean nothing.

Mitzi is one of hordes of dogs and owners whose freedom has been curtailed since 7-year-old Carolina Anderson was attacked at Coxs Bay Reserve in Westmere in January.

After Carolina's face was savaged, the public outcry caused the Government to agree to tougher dog legislation and councils stepped up dog patrols, but now dog owners like Dr Casey say the backlash has gone too far.

She agrees that what happened to Carolina - who is home after a stay in the Starship Children's Hospital with another infection to her damaged right eye - was horrendous. But she objects to all dog owners being viewed as irresponsible when most make sure their pets are under control.

Dr Casey has decided to fight back.

The Eden Albert Community Board wants Fowlds Park in Western Springs, Dr Casey's and Mitzi's local green space, free from dogs off leashes.

It has recommended dogs be allowed off their leash only in the sloping bush area that runs parallel to Western Springs Rd.

Dr Casey says the recommendation was made with no consultation with dog owners and that the bush area is inaccessible and unsafe.

Before the attack on Carolina, the flat area of the park was a sociable place where dogs could run free and co-exist harmoniously with the joggers, families and sportspeople also there.

She has launched a leaflet drop and email campaign urging other dog owners in the area to contact the Auckland City Council's working party set up to review all dog exercise areas across the city and ask them to be fair and compromise. Many dog owners are "fired up for action," she says.

"Let us exercise our dogs at certain times. There is plenty of room at the park to exercise around - not on - the recreation grounds and away from the playground.

"We'd like to have access after 5pm and before 9am during the week and perhaps after afternoon sport is over on the weekend."

She says the response to her email campaign is fast gaining ground.

So too is Carolina's recovery. She is able to attend Bayfield School for longer periods and the swelling distorting her face is going down.

But a family spokesman said this week that the latest eye infection had delayed skin expansion surgery on her cheek and scalp, chunks of which were torn off in the attack.

Since that evening episode in Coxs Bay reserve, when an unrestrained animal savaged the girl during a family picnic, councils report dog owners have become more aware of bylaws.

More people take their dogs out on a leash, and let them off only in designated areas.

They are wary of being spotted by dog-control wardens and stung with a $200 instant fine, part of the council's attitude of zero tolerance brought in after Carolina's attack.

Before, wardens identified 60 dogs a week not on a leash but let most owners off with a warning.

Now, they are having to issue only around 10 instant fines a week.

At Coxs Bay Reserve life has definitely changed for dogs.

One is Rusty, a 2-year-old Australian terrier cross, who lives nearby. He is prone to wandering, and regularly took himself down to the park. The day after Carolina's attack, Rusty was hanging about in the park and ambled up to a police press conference, winding up on the 6pm news as a dog on the loose.

When friends rang his owner, Lola MacKinnon, to say they had seen him, she was embarrassed.

That was when life changed for Rusty. His escape routes have been blocked and he does not leave home without a leash.

Ms MacKinnon believes the special mate she adopted from the SPCA is harmless and would never hurt a fly.

But since the attack she accepts that you just never know, and restraint is the best option.

Walking Rusty is not what it used to be.

"The dogs used to come down here and just sort of meet up and run around and socialise. "There is definitely an anti-dog feeling around the place. I think most dog owners feel they don't want to let their dog off."

Mary Green, out walking Monty, says the dogless can shoot "fairly dark looks" even in areas where dogs are legally allowed to run.

"Particularly at the start, it was really quite frightening and everybody felt that they were really on the outer - and I can understand why.

"It was horrendous."

Even though Carolina was bitten in the inner suburbs, it is not just dog owners near to town who have changed their habits, albeit reluctantly in some cases.

Said one North Shore dog owner: "It's not as pleasant as before.

"Even though I have a well-behaved small dog I do feel my freedom, not its freedom, my freedom to exercise it and enjoy its enjoyment has been limited."

On a snap tour of city streets the Herald spotted only the occasional dog off its leash.

In the Wymondley Rd area in Otara, where posties were being regularly bitten and stopped delivering mail in protest, just one dog was straying on the pavement.

Others were behind fences or tied up.