Owner of ‘dangerous’ dog that attacked child in Tasman district fails in appeal

Dog owner Quaid Brennan and his partner Millie Russell, with Ariella Russell, 8, say Onyx is a “loving dog”.

Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter

A dog that attacked a child and caused “horrific” injuries will continue to be considered dangerous despite his owner’s attempt to appeal the classification.

Onyx, a 2-year-old American bulldog, attacked and bit a girl after she bent down to the dog’s height in April. She and her cousin had been playing with the dog at the time.

The bite lacerated the girl’s lip and required 10 stitches.

Tasman District Council classified Onyx as dangerous in May after it was alerted to, and investigated, the event.

The dangerous classification means the owner must muzzle the dog in public, neuter the dog, and ensure there is safe access to their property. It also increases registration fees, and the council must give consent to transfer ownership of the dog to another person.

The council announced on Saturday it was upholding the dangerous classification, despite the owner of the animal attempting to overturn the classification in a hearing last week.

Owner Quaid Brennan said the attack might have occurred because the dog wasn’t neutered and became protective over two other dogs on the property that were in heat.

Onyx hadn’t been neutered at the time.

A first-time dog owner, Brennan said he hadn’t realised owners should keep other people away from the house when dogs were on heat.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” he said. “My dog isn’t a dangerous dog. I know, I’ve had him since he was 3 weeks old. He’s never attacked anyone, never been aggressive.”

His partner Millie Russell, who was supporting Brennan, said it was her niece who was bitten and acknowledged the event was “horrible”.

“I do believe that there needs to be a consequence, and we do want to take accountability for what’s happened.”

While they both were happy to get Onyx neutered, they described the event as an “isolated incident” and didn’t want to muzzle Onyx in public.

“If I put a muzzle on him, he goes depressed and then people don’t want to come up to him,” Brennan said.

“He’s a very loving dog,” Russell added.

Onyx was also described as a support dog who Brennan credited with helping him stay sober over the past three years.

“He’s made me change my life,” he said. “He’s like my son.”

However, the hearing panel of three councillors wasn’t swayed and upheld the dangerous classification for Onyx.

Councillor Kit Maling described the bite injuries as “quite horrific”, while the council’s team leader of regulatory support Shannon Green said the attack was “quite severe”.

The council has a responsibility to insist dog owners meet obligations to ensure their dogs don’t cause a nuisance, and don’t injure, endanger, or distress people or other animals.

In a statement, the council said the decision to uphold the dangerous classification was intended to significantly reduce the chances of Onyx being involved in future attacks.

Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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