🐶 Saving Suki: A New Legal Lifeline for Dogs in Trouble

🤗 I have a confession - I do 'dog cases' as a side hobby

For years, New Zealand’s Dog Control Act 1996 has been strict: if a dog attacks under section 57, it must be put down unless ‘exceptional circumstances’ apply. But what counts as ‘exceptional’ has been narrowly defined, making it tough, if not impossible, to save a dog once a conviction happens.

🐕‍🦺 What Counts as ‘Exceptional Circumstances’?

The bar is high. The Court of Appeal in Auckland Council v Hill [2020] NZCA 52 made it clear: destruction is the default because a dog that has attacked once might do it again. The only escape? The attack must have happened under highly unusual, unlikely-to-recur conditions - like defending its owner from another attacking dog or being provoked.

Crucially, these conditions must exist at the time of the attack. Post-incident measures, like training or better containment, don’t count.

🐕 Enter the recent High Court ruling in Telford v Auckland Council [2023] NZHC 31, which offered a fresh legal route to avoid automatic destruction. The decision clarified that destruction orders only kick in upon conviction. If an owner is granted a discharge without conviction under sections 106 and 107 of the Sentencing Act 2002, their dog’s fate isn’t automatically sealed. However, judges can still order destruction at their discretion under section 106(3)(c), though they appear to consider broader factors than under section 57(3) of the Dog Control Act.

🐩 The Telford’s Legal Loophole that succeeded

Telford is a game-changer because it separates conviction from destruction. If a judge grants a discharge without conviction, the dog isn’t automatically doomed. In Telford, the judge spared the dog, Suki, because:

🐶 She had no prior aggression history

The attack happened shortly after moving to a new home

The owner took steps to prevent future incidents

Suki was put on medication to manage anxiety

The owner took responsibility and compensated the victim.

🐕 What This Means for Dog Owners

While destruction orders remain a serious risk, Telford gives owners a fighting chance. If the case circumstances support a discharge without conviction, a dog’s life might be spared - especially when public safety isn’t at stake.

For worried pet parents, this ruling offers hope: the law isn’t entirely black and white, and there’s now a little more room to argue for a second chance.

RIP Suki- she got to live her last years playing with her owner's kids