New Zealand: Woman cuts out her Bull Terrier's microchip and hides dog after it rips woman's lip off

NEW ZEALAND -- To the end, Gretel Fairbrother was her dog's best friend, staying with him as he was put down for a vicious attack on a woman.

The former Wellington lawyer fought for nearly two years to clear bull terrier Stanley Boy of the attack, in Porirua, but was found guilty on December 19 of failing to keep a dog under control, obstructing a dog control officer, and owning a dog that attacked a person.

Stanley Boy was due to be destroyed after Fairbrother's sentencing next week, but she rang Porirua City Council on Christmas Eve and asked that he be put down early.

She was with him at the vet when he was put to death, council general manager of environment and regulatory services David Rolfe said.

  

"It would have been upsetting. It was her dog and she had been looking after it. She was a regular visitor to the pound to visit him. I'm sure she didn't make the decision lightly."

It was likely she had finally realised she could not save the dog, Rolfe said.

"There had been a judgment, a decision, and it was pretty damning as to where the fault lay. Maybe she had some time to mull over that decision."

Stanley Boy was being walked near the Camborne boat sheds in Porirua on February 22, 2013, when he lunged at veterinary technician Linda Harrison-Pugh, who had stopped to admire him. The resulting bite ripped Harrison-Pugh's lower lip off.

In court, Fairbrother argued through her lawyer, Mike Antunovic, that the bite was a "kiss gone wrong" and that Harrison-Pugh bit off her own lip when the dog lunged against it.

After the attack, Stanley Boy had his microchip cut out and was hidden from authorities. 

He was finally seized in August last year when a member of the public spotted him in a parked car in Wellington.

Judge Tony Zohrab will sentence Fairbrother on Tuesday. She faces a jail sentence of up to three years, or a fine of up to $20,000, on the charge of owning a dog that attacked and seriously injured a person.

Porirua City Council has spent more than $106,000 on legal fees alone to prosecute the case, but it was worth the cost, Rolfe said.

"That was an absolute no-brainer. When you see the damage that was done, it really didn't take a lot of thinking about. It's in the community's interest that such dog attacks are punished. Our main concern was to make sure it didn't happen again."

The hiding of Stanley Boy, and Fairbrother's aggressive defence, prolonged the case, but the court system was frustratingly slow too, he said.

"In the end it took two years, which I think most people would say is totally unacceptable."

The council was consulting with its lawyers over what damages it would try to win in Fairbrother's sentencing, he said.

Harrison-Pugh said she felt sorry for Fairbrother, even though the dog's death was good for the public interest.

 "I've had to put down dogs for lesser sins, and it's tragic. I feel remorse for Gretel, but that's the responsibility of owning a dog."

"If she had been let off or found not guilty, that would have set a precedent for all of New Zealand for further leniency with dog offences."

Fairbrother declined to comment, saying it was not appropriate to do so while the matter was still before the courts.

(The Dominion Post - Jan 26, 2015)