A Kingston man has been issued with a menacing-dog notice following the latest in a series of dog attacks in Kingston.
Kingston Community Association secretary Margaret Gibson said, since November, six dogs and a hen had been attacked by other dogs in Kingston.
Mrs Gibson claimed a bull mastiff was responsible for the most recent attack, and three previous attacks on other dogs.
Yesterday, the dog's owner was issued with a menacing-dog notice and his dog is now required by law to wear a muzzle and lead outside the home.
The man has two weeks to object to the notice.
He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Mrs Gibson said last Friday two holiday home owners from Invercargill tied their bichon frise dog up outside a Kingston shop and the dog was attacked. The resulting vet bills cost the owners $460.
Last month, an 8-year-old female Jack Russell terrier called Ming was set upon by two other locally owned dogs while being walked on the Kingston waterfront, costing $516 in vet bills.
Ming's owner, Beth Nicholson, of Kingston, said the attack "went on forever".
"When the second dog started, I just couldn't watch any more. I thought Ming must be dead now. We were lucky she was wearing a lead and collar because they couldn't get at her throat."
The dog recovered, but still walked with a limp, she said.
The incident was reported to police.
Yesterday, Mrs Gibson sent a "description of incident" email to Kingston residents, in a bid to record attacks and "compile a database of incidents to identify dangerous dogs, and their owners, in Kingston".
The forms would be sent to Queenstown Lakes District Council dog control, she said.
Last month, 38 Kingston residents attended a district council dog control meeting which looked at dog control bylaws and practices.
Lakes Environmental regulatory and corporate manager Lee Webster, who is in charge of dog control in the Wakatipu area, said the issue of dog control in Kingston was "being tackled".
"Myself and police have spoken with a number of the residents, but we have to operate in the confines of the law. If nothing's reported we just can't do anything. We will investigate all incidents we know about" Mr Webster said.
Under the law, a dog owner can be reclassified as a "probationary" or "disqualified" owner if they are prosecuted, or issued with three separate infringements, he said.
