Carnamah dog owner ordered to pay $9,200 for attack on other dog resulting in death of beloved local pet

A dog owner has been ordered to pay more than $9000 after his animal attacked another dog last year, leading to its eventual death. The man was prosecuted over the significant injuries his dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier, caused to the other animal in March 2023. The owner pleaded not guilty to the charges and stood trial in Geraldton Magistrates Court last month. The magistrate ruled he was satisfied the man’s dog had bitten and caused injury to the other dog. The court fined the man $2500 and ordered the him to pay the Shire of Carnamah’s legal fees and costs totalling $6700. Shire chief executive Robert Paull said the attack was “violent and unprovoked”, involved the offending dog mauling the other dog in its front yard a few doors down. He said the victim’s dog received serious injuries to its neck that required extensive veterinary attention, but it later died due to its wounds. “People need to realise there are serious financial and criminal consequences for allowing your dog to roam the streets and possibly attack people or other animals,” Mr Paull said. The council applied to the court for a destruction order relating to the attacking dog, which the court initially granted. However, the court revoked the order provided the dog was not involved in any further breaches of the Dog Act 1976. As a result of the court’s decision, the council declared the dog ”dangerous”, triggering onerous conditions on the owner. These include the dog must confined to an enclosure, only allowed outside the confines of a property wearing a distinctive red and yellow collar, muzzled and must be under the control of an adult by means of a chain, leash or harness. Any breach can result in the owner being charged with a criminal offence. Mr Paull said there were “worrying” indications that some local dog owners were still failing to learn the lesson of others. State legislation surrounding dog ownership stipulates penalties of up to $10,000 per dog, per attack. Mr Paull said the council would not hesitate to seek these maximum penalties, and where necessary, request the courts to ban irresponsible dog owners from owning another dog. “We understand that the community has had enough of irresponsible dog owners, council will continue to enforce the law on any dog owner whose dog is found wandering and especially where a dog inflicts injury on any person or other animal,” he said. “Owning a dog is a privilege, not a right.”