Ten-month-old German shepherd-ridgeback cross Chase died from its wounds and two-year-old rottweiler-mastiff cross Bonnie was put down by a vet last Tuesday after a man shot the dogs under the Dog Control Act after telling police in a 111 call he could see them attacking a sheep.
Bonnie belonged to Nicole Tilden, and Chase to her partner Mathew Allen.
Miss Tilden said she left the dogs in a friend's care while she went to the shops and was devastated to arrive home 15 minutes later to see her dog dragging its hind legs and nearly dead.
She believed the dogs had not attacked the sheep because vet notes said neither dog had any blood on their face or chest.
Also, she did not believe there was enough time while she was away for the dogs to make the attack and the man to seek police advice, get his gun and go back to shoot them.
She had also heard reports of other dogs in the area being caught that day for chasing sheep.
However, police stand behind decision to give the man consent to shoot the dogs, and animal control says it is not necessarily the case dogs would have blood around their face or chest if they had bitten a sheep.
Sergeant Paul McLaughlan, of Dunedin, said he was satisfied a communications telephonist had followed the appropriate processes with the man before the dogs were shot, and the man had not done anything wrong.
A vet assessment of the sheep, which survived, confirmed it had been bitten by dogs in the legs and ears.
With police consent the man shot the dogs under section 57 of the Dog Control Act 1996, which says a person may, for the purpose of stopping an attack, seize or destroy a dog if they are attacked by the dog, or see the dog attacking any other person, stock, poultry, domestic animal or protected wildlife.
Dunedin City Council senior animal control officer Jim Pryde said dogs could worry a sheep until it was exhausted and there might not be a lot of blood involved initially.
The vet who treated the dogs declined to comment yesterday.
Mr Pryde said this was an unfortunate lesson about keeping dogs contained, especially near semi-rural areas.
"This [incident] just highlights how quick dogs can get in trouble when they are not controlled and what can be the consequences."
Dogs had to be on a lead outside their owner's property, unless they were at a dog park or somewhere similar.
