AN ALEXANDRA Hills couple has lashed out over the council's handling of two dogs that viciously mauled their six-year-old German shepherd Rippa.
A council investigator said the attack - after which Rippa was euthanised - was stopped only by police spraying capsicum spray and a witness hitting the two Staffordshire terriers with a baseball bat.
The couple, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, showed the Redland City Bulletin documents obtained through a Right to Information application which showed the staffies had attacked another dog in the Keith Surridge Park six months before.
The council officer investigating Rippa's attack said the best outcome was for the two dogs to be destroyed because they would continue to be a risk to the community.
But a senior officer overturned the investigator's recommendation, saying the owner of the dog in the first attack did not give a statement so the extent of its injuries were unknown.
The investigator said the dogs had a history of straying and the council had recommended - after a previous attack - that the owner's fence be heightened to stop animals from jumping over.
After Rippa's attack in May, the council found the dog's enclosure had not been modified.
A council spokeswoman did not respond to the Bulletin's question about what was done to ensure the staffies' owner complied about the fence or Rippa's owners' concerns that the dogs could attack again.
The incident comes after a spate of attacks on pets and people, including an 11-year-old boy attacked at Thornlands, last year. The council planned a blitz on off-leash dogs after incidents at Scribbly Gums Conservation Reserve.
Rippa was being walked on a leash by his owner at the entrance to the Squirrel Glider Conservation Area. She said one staffy stood nose-to-nose with Rippa, while the other circled around her and Rippa.
"The male dog grabbed Rippa by the left-hand side of his cheek and ear and started to drag him from the boardwalk," she said. "I started to scream to stop the attack, then the female staffy jumped from the boardwalk and attacked the rear end of my dog, pinning him to the ground."
She said that she hit the dogs with a branch but that did not deter them.
A police officer who responded to the owner's 000 call said that Rippa was yelping, distressed and in pain while being attacked.
"The two smaller white dogs were both growling and viciously biting at the neck and shoulder area of the German shepherd," the officer said. Police officers took Rippa, who was bleeding severely from his ear, neck, shoulder and back leg, to a vet and the staffies to the pound.
The council documents said the owners were fined $261 for each dog for failing to keep them in an enclosure. The dogs were declared dangerous requiring them to be muzzled in public and each dog must be in the control of someone who has no other dogs when outside of the property.
The council spokeswoman said the dogs were only released back to the owner recently after an inspection of the property found the enclosure requirements and other conditions were met.
"As a minimum, an annual inspection of the property will be conducted to ensure compliance," the spokeswoman said. "Failure to comply with the provisions can trigger further action, including fines or seizure of the dogs. Council will seek to have an animal destroyed only as a last resort."
Rippa's owners said they euthanised their pet because of his injuries - one laceration was about five centimetres - and an existing medical condition that affected his legs.
The council spokeswoman said straying dogs posed a risk to themselves, people, pets and wildlife.
"Council reminds dog owners to ensure they exercise their dogs on a lead, unless in a designated dog off-leash area, and ensure their pets are adequately contained within an enclosure while at their property."
Read more local news here.
