Grandmother unhappy with court's dog-attack ruling

The 81-year-old West Coast victim of a pig-dog attack says the sentence handed to the dogs' owner is too lenient.

In the Greymouth District Court yesterday, Judge Dave Saunders ordered freezing worker Ian Stewart Fitzpatrick, 35, to pay $2000 to his neighbour, Edna Thomas, for the injuries and emotional harm she suffered from the attack on October 19 last year.

(...)

Fitzpatrick's lawyer, Richard Bodle, said the experience was harrowing for both parties. Through no fault of his, Fitzpatrick had found himself in the position of owning dogs that uncharacteristically attacked.

Thomas had entered the property through an entrance the dogs did not expect visitors. She carried an umbrella which the dogs could have perceived as a weapon and waved it offensively. The dogs were restrained at the time of the attack.

Bodle said the dogs were trained only to find and corner pigs, not attack.

Fitzpatrick was remorseful and had co-operated with police and was concerned about Thomas, Bodle said.

The judge said that without the umbrella, Thomas might not have been mauled. He said the dogs were secured in Fitzpatrick's backyard.

(...)

"I think he (Fitzpatrick) should have got more for what I've been through," she said.

MORE>>

This must have been hard for the judge. In a sense, she entered the dog's property. She entered in the wrong entrance. The dogs were restrained. The dog owner did the right thing, and called the authorities, and was really feeling bad.

But at the end of the day, she entered the dog's property, and the dog only did what dogs do... protect what's theirs.

I don't know the whole story about him and the pig hunting dogs, and if they barked, and she wanted something done about the noise, and/or whatever... it's just really sad that it came to this.