PHOTO
The heartbroken owner of a cat killed by two dogs says she keeps seeing her pet’s death playing out “over and over in my mind”.
At an emotional hearing at the Invercargill District Court on Thursday, the two dogs were ordered to be put down after the cat, Ronnie, was killed at an Invercargill property earlier this year.
Judge Mark Williams said this event was “particularly traumatic” for both parties.
“This case is extremely hard on all those involved . . . but the law is firm in this area.”
The dogs were a Staffordshire bull terrier cross called Coey and a mastiff cross called Jessie.
Their owner Tanagata Tupopongi Brown appeared in court alongside his daughter.
“Our dogs aren’t bad dogs, they’re family pets,” he said.
He also empathised with the owners of the cat, saying he knew how hard it was to lose someone you loved.
Annie Goff, Ronnie’s owner, told the court she was in the kitchen on the evening of January 8 and heard a scuffle outside.
“It sounded like a rapid running noise, then something being dragged.”
She went outside to investigate and was “struck by absolute terror,” seeing two dogs attacking her cat.
After Ms Goff yelled at the dogs, they eventually fled towards the street and she was able to pick up Ronnie.
“He was lifeless, head dropped, blood coming from his mouth.”
“I believe he died before I could get to him.”
The situation was “heartbreaking” and had significant effects on both her and her husband’s lives, she said.
“I keep continually seeing Ronnie being killed and bleeding, over and over in my mind.”
Her husband Owen James Goff read a victim impact statement saying he was sleeping during the incident and was awoken by screams from his wife.
He grabbed a baseball bat and headed outside before seeing two dogs running away and his wife holding their cat who had “clearly passed away”.
Ronnie was “beloved” by the family and Mr Goff said he had experienced sleepless nights since the incident.
“His life was taken so suddenly and so brutally.”
Both the Goffs expressed compassion for Mr Brown and his family, saying they knew as animal owners “how hard this would be”.
Invercargill City Council Animal Control office Cameron John McIntosh said both dogs had been impounded five times in 2025.
However, evidence was also produced in court showing the dogs were not aggressive while in the pound.
Mr Brown was not at home at the time of the incident and was adamant he locked the gate when he left that morning.
Describing them as “wanderers”, he did not call anyone when he learnt they escaped as he assumed animal control would have picked them up.
Together with his daughters, he made attempts to find out how the dogs were escaping.
They “spent the whole day” looking for gaps in the fence, but could not find anything.
Two neighbours told Mr Brown they had witnessed someone opening the gate and letting them out on multiple occasions.
“The only way the would get out is if the gate was open,” Mr Brown said.
Both neighbours also said the two dogs were friendly with their children and never showed signs of being aggressive.
Judge Williams described the event as “an all-too standard attack” and said this case would take an emotional toll on everyone involved.
For an argument to be made against the destruction of the two dogs, there needed to be exceptional circumstances, he said.
Although he took into account the measures taken to prevent the dogs from escaping, he did not consider these to be exceptional circumstances.
Mr Brown was ordered to make a $750 emotional harm payment to the Goffs.
There will be an appeal period, giving him a chance to dispute the judge’s decision and bring the case in front of the High Court.
Until the appeal window is over, the dogs will not be put down.
The judgement comes as 2026 marks a three-year high for dog attack complaints in Invercargill.
As of September 10, 95 dog attack complaints had been recorded by the council.
Council group manager Jonathan Shaw said the increase in dog ownership had correlated with a rise in poor owner behaviour.
“That’s not to say that is a large number . . . we just seem to have a small number who, whilst they may defend their right to own a dog, sometimes there’s a reluctance to understand that with rights come responsibilities.”
As of June 30, the number of registered dogs in Invercargill was 8167 with a total of 18 dogs being euthanised and five owners being disqualified by the council in the past year.