''With considerable reluctance'', Judge Tony Couch reserved his decision on a dog attack case heard in the Oamaru District Court yesterday to explore the legal issues of the defence.
Shane McKenzie, of Kakanui, appeared in court yesterday on charges of being the owner of dog which attacked a person and attacked another dog, causing serious injury.
The offences allegedly occurred in Oamaru on January 5, at a neighbouring property of the victim, Margaret Booth.
It is accepted McKenzie's dog Nikita attacked Ms Booth's Maltese Jack Russell Luca, but McKenzie disputed his dog bit Ms Booth on the leg. Both the dog and Ms Booth suffered serious injuries.
He claimed Ms Booth was injured when she bumped her leg on a tap by a path.
Defence counsel Emma Middlemass also submitted McKenzie had exercised sufficient control over his dog.
Nikita has been in the custody of the Waitaki District Council, at the Dunedin pound, since being seized on January 7.
Giving evidence yesterday, Ms Booth told Judge Couch she had met McKenzie once before the attack, when she asked him to keep his dog in his vehicle while she took her dog past to her home.
On January 5, Ms Booth was invited to her neighbour's property and took Luca.
McKenzie was visiting at the time, with his dog Nikita. They were both on the veranda.
''Nikita ran towards us ... trying to get to my dog,'' Ms Booth told the court.
''I was just yelling, `No, no, no, no'.''
Ms Booth said she tried to grab Nikita, but could not and jumped out of the way.
She said she felt a ''bang'' as Nikita went past.
Turning to leave the property, she realised her leg was wet and saw a ''hunk'' of her flesh ''flopped over and bleeding''.
Nikita had Luca in her mouth. McKenzie prised open his dog's mouth, let Luca go and put Nikita in his car.
Ms Booth claimed in the first stages of the attack, at least, McKenzie made no attempt to control his dog or prevent the attack.
Luca was taken to Vetlife Oamaru where he was treated for eight puncture wounds, a hole in his lung and smashed ribs.
''Chaos'' ensued at Oamaru Hospital, when her ''hysterical'' neighbour arrived, Ms Booth said. The neighbour threw herself at Ms Booth a number of times.
''She kept throwing herself on me, yelling that I had fallen over a tap,'' she said.
Ms Booth was then transferred to Dunedin Hospital for treatment.
Giving evidence for the defence, McKenzie said he did not notice Ms Booth come on to the property and when he saw the attack, ''dropped what I was doing and broke the dogs up''.
Animal control officer Kelly Gore Symes told the court she spoke to McKenzie outside the property where the attack took place and was told Nikita was not there.
The following day, she visited McKenzie's Kakanui property. Nikita was inside the house. She asked McKenzie to release the dog, but he declined. She returned on January 7, accompanied by police, with a warrant and Nikita was seized.
In summary, Alexandra Cunninghame, appearing for the Waitaki District Council, said she believed there was sufficient evidence that the injuries to Luca and Ms Booth were caused by Nikita.
Nikita was not wearing a collar at the time of the offence, an indication of a lack of control, and having a dog on someone else's property, there was a duty to keep that dog under control.
''On his evidence, he wasn't watching his dog and therefore was unable to control it when the other dog entered the property,'' she said.
''He was close enough to have control and he didn't.''
Miss Middlemass argued McKenzie provided sufficient control over his dog and he had proved total absence of fault.
Judge Couch reserved his decision ''with considerable reluctance'', in the absence of a detailed submission on the defence law.
Judge Couch said he needed to explore the legal issues of the defence and hoped to give a decision in writing by the end of next week.
''I'm conscious that there is a dog sitting in a pound in Dunedin, who even though she doesn't know what's going on today, she's waiting on it,'' he said.
''So that prolongs the process for you, Mr McKenzie, but I have to give your defence proper consideration and I can't do that on the basis of what I've been provided with today.''
McKenzie was remanded at large until October 21.
