Council classifies dog as dangerous

A dog alleged to have mauled a pet pig that had to be put down has been slapped with a dangerous dog classification.

The ruling came from Whanganui District Council's statutory management committee which met yesterday.

The dog, a Bordeaux mastiff bitch called Macie, is owned by Alex Pirikahu of Aramoho. It was this dog which is alleged to have attacked a six-year-old kunekune pig owned by Princess Jury and living on her property in a neighbouring street.

The attack happened on Christmas Day and left the pig so badly mauled that animal control officers had to put it down the following day.

Council officers later found the dog had wandered from Mr Pirikahu's property. The same dog and one of its pups were found chasing sheep on a farmlet on Brunswick Rd about two months later.

Councillor Hamish McDouall, who chaired the hearing, said the committee upheld the dangerous dog classification sought by animal control officers. This means the dog will be neutered, must be restrained within a fenced property and must always be on a leash and muzzled anytime it was off the property.

Mr McDouall said the committee had heard compelling evidence that Macie was the dog that attacked the pig and that blood had been found on its chest and feet soon after the incident.

The events of Christmas Day were "tragic" and especially traumatising for the pig's owner Mrs Jury and her grandson.

"The most compelling evidence as to the identity of the dog was given by Mrs Jury," he said.

In her evidence Mrs Jury said she could not understand "why council allows these killing machine dogs in residential zones".

"My pig was being eaten alive and there were bits of its flesh all around the paddock," she said.

Mr McDouall said the committee, which included councillors Martin Visser and Jason Granville, was satisfied that the dog that attacked the pig was Mr Pirikahu's. The dog had a history of roaming and had gone "an extraordinarily long distance" to be found chasing sheep on a Brunswick Rd property in February.

But he said the committee was impressed with how Mr Pirikahu had acted after the attack, helping Mrs Jury try and overcome her grief and burying the pig for her.

He had since built a high fence to ensure the dog could not wander.