A dog control officer is calling for the courts to deal with dangerous dogs much more quickly, after a bull mastiff that attacked a pensioner was stolen from the Greymouth pound.
Murray Malloch says on Tuesday he was deliberately distracted by a visitor and the dog, Nui, was taken through a hole cut in the fence. The animal had been in the pound since 1 May.
Mr Malloch says some dogs are staying in the pound for several months before a decision to euthanise is made by the court system.
He says the bull mastiff should have been dealt with by the courts inside a one-month time frame and believes if it is not captured soon it will injure someone else.
