A man who was convicted for not controlling his dog after the 5-year-old German shepherd, which had previously attacked other dogs and bitten a woman in 2007, attacked a car at Blackhead last year is appealing a decision to not allow him to own dogs for the next three years.
Dunedin city councillors will this week decide whether Mario Tucholski should remain disqualified to own a dog, and whether his dog Kaiser, who was seized by animal control officers after it attacked a car containing a man and a Labrador dog as they left Blackhead Beach, should continue to be classified as dangerous.
The classification was imposed after Mr Tucholski was convicted in the Dunedin District Court last month of the Dog Control Act offence of allowing a dog to rush at a vehicle in a manner likely to cause an accident. He has yet to be sentenced.
That incident was late last year. A month earlier, Mr Tucholski had unsuccessfully appealed a menacing dog classification placed on Kaiser after an incident at the Waikari dog park, in which Kaiser picked up a bichon frise in his mouth, terrifying the smaller dog and severely bruising its ribs.
That classification required Kaiser to be neutered and muzzled in public unless confined in a cage or vehicle.
Mr Tucholski argued the punishment seemed to "far outweigh the crime" and Kaiser's quality of life would be detrimentally affected by muzzling.
The council hearings committee of Crs Colin Weatherall (chairman), Andrew Noone and Paul Hudson told Mr Tucholski in a letter that two professional dog-behaviour experts had advised Kaiser was a dominant dog, his behaviour was instinctive and he was not able to be controlled by Mr Tucholski.
Therefore, he posed a continued risk to the community, in particular other dogs.
Kaiser had already come to the attention of dog control officers in November 2007 when he bit a woman who was walking past the Tucholskis' Taieri Rd property.
Extensive litigation has ensued between the council and Mr Tucholski since Kaiser was seized, and Mr Tucholski commenced civil proceedings in relation to the seizure, which are ongoing.
Council staff noted in a report on his latest appeal to the committee that, as a result of the conviction, the council was obliged to disqualify the owner for up to five years, and the dog must be classified as dangerous.
Mr Tucholski had been issued a notice disqualifying him from dog ownership for three years.
The panel will consider his appeal on Thursday.
