Shire should act on dog attack:RSPCA

By Paul Pickering
A VICIOUS dog attack at a Chum Creek property has left the Shire of Yarra Ranges at odds with the RSPCA over the responsibilities of dog owners.
Damian and Lisa Voce claim their two-year-old Staffordshire terrier Sampson strayed onto a nearby property on Sunday 22 July and was mauled by dogs residing on the premises.
The couple found Sampson seriously injured and were forced to have him put down.
Mr and Mrs Voce say the incident was the latest in a series of attacks to have occurred in the street and are calling for shire rangers to step in.
After investigating the property in question, the rangers confirmed that Sampson had been mauled by at least one of three dogs kept there.
While the investigation is ongoing, the shire last week stated that without witness statements or other evidence it could not prosecute dog owners for an attack that happened on their own premises.
Responding to the shire’s interpretation of the Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act 1994, RSPCA president Dr Hugh Wirth said the shire had got it wrong.
“I don’t believe that’s true according to the law,” Dr Wirth said. “My understanding is that the municipality should have acted.”
The act states that when a dangerous dog is kept on residential premises, the owner must ensure that the dog is kept either inside the house or within a prescribed enclosure.
“The municipality is failing in its responsibility to do something about it – it’s just plain buck-passing,” Dr Wirth said.
However, the shire’s community relations manager, James Martin, noted that the dog being investigated had not been declared dangerous by the shire’s rangers, therefore it did not need to be kept within an enclosure.
He added that the shire had previously attempted to prosecute a dog owner for an attack that happened in their front yard and the matter was thrown out by the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court.
“The council has been very proactive on taking action against irresponsible dog owners where that action is warranted and can be proven,” Mr Martin said.
Other residents of the Chum Creek street say that their neighbourhood has been terrorised by dangerous dogs being unsatisfactorily restrained and have joined the Voce family in signing statutory declarations to present to the shire.
While Mrs Voce noted that belated action could not bring Sampson back, she said it would allay her fears about the safety of her other dog, Koda, and two children.
“Someone has got to take a stand,” she said. “Because if they can kill my dog they can easily rip a kid’s face off.”
Mr Martin said that an unregistered dog had been found roaming outside the property last week. The dog was taken to the pound and has not been collected.
Mr Martin said the shire would be issuing a nuisance dog monitoring form so any disturbances could be validated and action taken if it was warranted.
The investigation is continuing.