Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels confirmed that the council is to press charges against the owner of a Staffordshire bull terrier under the Dog Act of 1976.
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| Diane Taylor with "Molly" |
The attack happened when Diane Taylor was taking her small white Shih Tzu, Molly, on her daily walk.
As she was heading along Smythe Street at the junction with Victoria Street, two dogs approached Molly on the footpath.
It is believed they had escaped from a nearby property.
The small pet was then set upon and its eye was ripped out when a man tried to pull a dog off her.
Senior vet Jamie Watts at Warnbro Veterinary Surgery, who took Molly in for emergency surgery, saidher eyewas damaged beyond repair.
Instead he had to remove the eye completely and stitch up Molly’s eye socket.
The cost of the emergency operation was $900.
Mrs Taylor was distraught about the attack on her dog, which is just a year old, but said she was doing well and her stitches would be removed on Wednesday.
‘‘I am glad there will be a conclusion in this case,’’ Mrs Taylor said.
One of the dogs, the Staffordshire terrier, remains locked up in a pound at the Rockingham City Council, while the other, aBelgian shepherd who was not involved in the attack, has been released.
It will not be permitted to return to the property it escaped from.
Rangers have carried out a full investigation into the attack and how now moved towards prosecution.
‘‘All documentation, including witness and vet reports, has now handed over to the council’s legal team for advice.
We do not have any indication on when this matter will be heard before the court, and no further information will be released on the case until it is presented before a magistrate,’’ a council spokeswoman said.
(Sound Telegraph - September 28, 2011)
