Victim hits back after dog attack
A GOLF club is Karen Warner's weapon of choice, just in case.
The Morayfield resident loves to exercise but her fear of vicious dogs has left her carrying the club on walks as she anxiously awaits another attack.
It wasn't always that way.
On January 18, Mrs Warner was completing her usual exercise routine along Brogan Rd when two dobermans broke lose from the front of a home she was passing and set their target on her.
Rushing to safety, Mrs Warner climbed on top of a car outside the home and called for help.
Mrs Warner received puncture wounds to her legs, bite marks on her hands and an intense fear of dogs, which has changed her life.
While the owner came out to restrain the dogs, a neighbour was called to assist as the dogs were too powerful.
Mrs Warner and her husband contacted Moreton Bay Regional Council about the issue but were told there was not much they could do.
"The dogs were deemed dangerous but they have not been put down," Mrs Warner said.
It is believed the dog owner has relocated to the Sunshine Coast. But the couple has continued to pursue the issue, fearing the dogs could hurt someone else.
"We haven't let it go. We took it right to the ombudsman," Mrs Warner said.
"What if it had been a child or an elderly person?"
Mrs Warner said she and her husband were concerned about the council's apparent lack of power to deal with dangerous dogs and she felt that since the owners had moved she had been fobbed off.
"It's quite ludicrous as it seems their hands are tied," Mrs Warner said.
"I think the council should have more of an active role in regards to provisions that are set on people."
A Moreton Bay Regional Council spokesman said the council was aware the owners had moved to the coast with the dogs.
"The two dogs involved in the January 18 attack were declared dangerous by Moreton Bay Regional Council," the spokesman said.
"The dangerous dog declarations and restrictions remain in place and are now enforced by Sunshine Coast Regional Council."
Under the Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008, council may declare a dog to be dangerous or menacing if an investigation finds it has seriously attacked or acted in a way that has caused fear to a person or other animal. The same procedure applies regardless of the severity of the attack.
A dog can be seized and destroyed if the owner fails to register the dog as a declared animal as required by the council under state legislation, or fails to abide by the mandatory conditions of a declaration.
The council can also automatically seize and destroy a declared dangerous dog if it attacks a person or another animal.
