THERE have been more than 900 reported dog attacks on people and animals in Frankston in the past four years.
Frankston Council figures reveal there were 233 reports of dog attacks last year and 225 the year before. There were 921 attacks from the start of 2011 until the end of 2014.
The Times asked for the information in the wake of a five-year-old Carrum Downs girl being savaged by a pit bull cross on Friday 20 January.
Alexis Douglas had been playing outside a family friend’s house on the evening a neighbour’s dog attacked.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback cross was unregistered and has been put down with the agreement of the pet owner.
Alexis’ mother, Monique Douglas, slammed Frankston Council for not answering its out-of-hours emergency call service over the weekend after the attack which left her daughter with facial injuries requiring plastic surgery.
Ms Douglas told 3AW radio presenter Neil Mitchell last Tuesday that council’s Dangerous Dogs hotline was seemingly unmanned on the Friday evening and after the details of the dog attack were given to council on the Saturday nobody called her back.
“I left all my details with Frankston Council,” she said.
Council CEO Dennis Hovenden said council’s after-hours service provider had incorrectly “downgraded” the report of the Carrum Downs dog attack.
“Unfortunately, we’ve found that the report of the attack had not been flagged as urgent, which meant that The Lost Dogs Home did not receive notification or contact council’s on-call duty officer to investigate,” Mr Hovenden said.
“We plan to implement a permanent change to this reporting system to ensure that every dog attack reported will be treated as serious and dealt with quickly.”
Council officers met the girl’s family after Ms Douglas called 3AW.
Mr Hovenden said the Rhodesian Ridgeback cross is not listed on the restricted breeds list but the dog involved in the attack was unregistered and “unrestrained” at the time of the attack.
Council and police are investigating the full circumstances of the attack.
“The safety of Frankston City residents is a priority and there will be little tolerance where dogs are not responsibly managed by their owners,” Mr Hovenden said.
The dog’s owner could be fined under the Domestic Animals Act.
Mr Hovenden urged dog owners to come forward to council if their pet is involved in an “attack incident”.
“They are also encouraged to report the incident to council so a compliance officer can investigate the incident and provide direction, education and advice on responsible pet ownership, which may include appropriate training of the animal with a qualified trainer or dog behaviourist or in certain circumstances removal of the animal.”
First published in the Frankston Times
