Animal management officers chased, bitten, threatened with weapons as dog attacks and roaming on the rise in Auckland

“I went looking for trouble and I found it.”

That is how senior animal management officer Rebecca Foster describes heading out to look for roaming and aggressive dogs on the streets of Mangere.

A roaming dog had got into a property and attacked another dog and, with the owner refusing to hand the guilty dog over, Foster called for reinforcements in the form of more animal management officers and the police.

“Most of the dog owners that we are dealing with are not very responsive to us,” she said.

This is on the lower side of the cases Foster, who is also six months pregnant, deals with on a daily basis. On other occasions she has been attacked by dogs and seen colleagues threatened with being shot.

“I was bitten on my left leg a couple of years back. There was another incident where a dog owner set their dog owner on me, while one time a man trapped me in my vehicle and prevented me from leaving,” she said. “You need thick skin to do this job.”

Auckland has experienced a significant rise in dog attacks and roaming dogs, with both the dog population increasing and owners becoming less responsible for their pets.

According to the Animal Management Annual Report, the known dog population in Auckland increased this year by 5.4% to more than 131,000 dogs, while the number of dog attacks reported in the last year increased by 28% to 2437.

Bearing in mind, though, that only 20% of all dog attacks are reported – the number is likely much higher.

This is putting immense pressure on animal management officers like Foster and her staff, with officers responding to more than 33,000 call-outs over the last year.

That is roughly 90 a day and Foster says they just cannot respond to them all.

“We have to prioritise call-outs because it usually takes one hour to deal with just one,” she said. “My busiest day was 27 call-outs.”

Foster says letting dogs that have not been desexed roam leads to breeding on the streets – something which she says has contributed to a rise in the dog population.

“The dog population is growing exponentially, and we can’t keep up with it. Male and female dogs come across each other on the streets, and that turns into 10 dogs, those 10 turn into 20, and so on.”

Foster says owners then don’t take responsibility for the puppies that are produced.

According to data released by Auckland Council, the dogs involved in the most attacks are the American pit bull terrier and the Staffordshire bull terrier. Foster says genetics do play a role and there are certain aggressive characteristics associated with specific breeds. But, at the same time, owners need to take responsibility for their dogs.

“There are certain dog breeds that are harder to own, especially for people who don’t necessarily know what they are doing,” she said.

“You can have the most aggressive dog, and it can be fine if you look after it, if it’s kept contained, and if it is registered and microchipped, there won’t be a problem.”

Foster wants dog owners to step up to the plate and become more responsible for the behaviour of their dogs.

“It is the owners that are knowingly letting their dogs roam, and they don’t care, and they are not putting the measures in place to stop it happening. Those are where the issues lie.”

The council’s three animal shelters have been under pressure as a result of the increase in dog attacks and roaming, with more than 6500 dogs impounded this year, an increase of 31.6%.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, about 80% of the dogs that come into the shelters are not de-sexed.

Owners are given seven days to claim their dog before they are put up for adoption. Only dogs that pass a temperance test can be adopted, with the more aggressive dogs euthanised if they are not collected.

Only 52.9% of owners have claimed their dog from shelters in the last year.

Foster would like to see harsher penalties for dog owners who let their dogs roam, including a ban on dog ownership if people have proven to be incapable of being a responsible owner.

“What we are finding out in the field is we are going back to the same properties, and we are dealing with the same owners time and time again,” she said.

“There are certain streets you know if you turn down those streets, there will be roaming dogs. We call these ‘frequent flyer’ areas.”

“You can educate, you can help, but if the owners don’t meet you halfway you are just headbutting a brick wall,” Foster says.

In an ideal world, Foster says she wouldn’t have a job as dogs would be under control at all times and there would be no need for animal control.

In the end, though, she says the ball is in the owner’s court.

“Ultimately, if you keep your dog contained, registered and microchipped, you won’t have a run in with animal management.”