Published on Tuesday, 14 December 2021 at 7:01:45 AM
Photo: Derby/West Kimberley senior ranger Paul Fromont with a local rescue dog who recently found a new home
The Shire of Derby/West Kimberley has successfully brought court action against the owner of a dog that caused a significant injury to a local woman earlier this year.
The owner of the dog, now a former resident of the Shire, entered a guilty plea in Derby Magistrates court to the crime to his dog causing physical injury to another person.
The attack took place on June 14 of this year. The woman, a local, was walking along the street with her small child in a pram when two dogs ran off a property and one attacked her.
The Shire’s senior ranger, Paul Fromont, said the attack was unprovoked, and the woman was terrified and received serious injuries to her leg that required extensive medical attention. The scars that formed on the women’s injuries to the front and rear of her leg also required treatment in the months following the attack.
“People need to realise there are serious financial and criminal consequences for allowing your dog to roam the streets and possibly attack people,” Fromont said.
“The penalties against the owner reflected the injuries so we are pleased with the result.”
The court imposed a penalty of $2500 and ordered the accused to pay the Shire’s costs in the amount of $999.30, to a total of $3499.30.
The case has highlighted the urgent need for local residents to register their pets and make every effort towards responsible dog ownership, including microchipping, fencing your property, securing dogs in the home environment and training and socialising them adequately.
Fromont said the main issue with dogs in the west Kimberley was inadequate fencing or confinement, and this posed a risk to the dog and the general public.
“Dog attacks are pretty common in our Shire sadly,” Fromont said.
“Dogs are wandering quite freely [in the Shire] due to poor fencing or owners not containing them properly. It’s bad for the dogs because they can attack and it also opens them up to catching diseases such as parvo.”
Fromont said dog training and socialisation should also be a priority for owners, though he acknowledged this could be hard to access as there were no formal dog training courses available in the district. Free training videos are available online however, from the basic commands such as sit and stay, to tricks and advanced techniques.
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