The Council is taking a new proactive approach to protecting school children from an increasing number of loose dogs. Liam Rātana rides along.

I was on my way to work last week, driving past a road in Māngere (where I live), when I noticed a man dressed in a collared shirt, pants, and dress shoes frantically running down the footpath; his laptop bag flapping about and a deeply concerned look on his face. My mind raced: was there an active shooter? Was someone trying to jump him? Had he been caught doing something he shouldn’t have? 

Just as I began wondering if my own safety might be at risk, I saw a roaming dog chasing the man, barking aggressively as he ran for his life. That afternoon, I was driving past the same road and saw a kid in his school uniform running with the same scared look on his face, as the same dog chased after him.

Māngere has just been revealed as the suburb with the fifth highest number of requests for services from the Auckland Council’s Animal Management team. Between 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, there were 2,240 requests for service made in Manurewa, the most of any area in Auckland. Papakura was next on the list with 2176 requests, Ōtara had 1737, and Papatoetoe had 1452. During the same period, the total number of dog attacks in Auckland rose by 17% to 2,846. 

So far this year, there have been 40 attacks reported on children and young people, with a majority of those believed to be of Māori or Pacific Island descent. However, council representatives say there are far more cases presenting to Starship than are being reported. 

“People aren’t reporting attacks out of fear of what might happen to their dogs, or their family or friends’ dogs,” a spokesperson for Auckland Council tells me.

The Auckland Council credits the rise in attacks to an increase in the number of roaming dogs, which they attribute to lower desexing rates and an increase in dogs being bred specifically for the purpose of being sold or exchanged for goods.

“Children want dogs, so their parents get them a dog without realising the responsibility or costs that come with owning a dog – so they end up abandoning them,” says proactive animal management officer Galvin Peters.

In response to the increasing number of dog attacks, the council established a proactive animal management team late last year. The proactive team is responsible for regular school-time patrols in areas deemed to be high risk. Alongside its regular patrol programme, three morning and afternoon patrols are carried out three times a week by animal management officers in Māngere, Papakura, and Ōtara. 

Lily Harris (Ngāti Porou) is one of the proactive animal management officers. Born and raised in the home of the brave, Ōtara, Harris used to work at the Manukau Animal Shelter before applying for a role on the new team. The kennel has capacity for around 120 dogs and Harris says it is almost always full.

“We had so many dogs coming in that we couldn’t keep up,” Harris says.

Last Wednesday, I rode along with Peters and Harris on the morning school patrol through Ōtara. Driving along Ōtara Road, it doesn’t take long for the watchful eyes of the officers to spot their first loose dog. As we park up on the kerbside, the dog retreats into what appears to be a Kāinga Ora property. Peters takes a photo of the dog on his phone, before he radios in to check if the house has been flagged for any reason, such as an officer being abused, or if there is any dog registered to it. 

Both of the answers are negative, so Peters and Harris exit the silver Ford Ranger, dressed head-to-toe in some serious tactical gear, including black boots, vests with body cams, radio transceivers, leashes, and extendable bite sticks.

A woman answers the door and explains that the dog just showed up one day and hung around since. It’s not registered, so Peters issues the woman with a notice stating the dog must be registered within seven days if she wishes to keep it and avoid a $300 fine. Although this dog just managed to walk out a front gate that was left open, Peters says there were also issues with holes in the fence around the property.

“A lot of the properties [we go to] are owned by Kāinga Ora,” says Peters.

A lack of timely and adequate maintenance from Kāinga Ora on its properties, such as failing to fix holes in fences, means dogs can often go wandering and take up resources from the animal management team that could be used elsewhere. It’s just one issue that is beyond the control of officers like Harris and Peters.

Back on the road, Peters begins explaining the educational work the team does in local schools around dog safety and being a responsible dog owner. They also visit community organisations that offer home-based services, such as district nurses and Plunket, teaching them how to safely approach a home with a dog on the property. 

In his role, Peters appears to have built a positive relationship with members of the community. While chasing a roaming dog outside of Dawson Primary School, where Peters recently delivered one of his workshops, some of the school kids stop and wave at him.

“The best part of the job is educating the community. The key message we’re sharing is that any dog can bite,” Peters says.

The sentiment is shared by Harris, who says she enjoys “making a difference in my community and my culture”. Growing up in South Auckland and with Cook Islands heritage, Harris appreciates the stark differences in the way dogs are cared for in Aotearoa compared to the Pacific Islands. Having lived in Rarotonga myself, I know dog owners there have a blasé approach to caring for their dogs, who are generally left to roam free.

During the two nearly two-hour patrol, we encountered at least six loose dogs. Two of the roaming dogs were spotted close to a primary school and kindergarten. By the end of the morning school shift, three notices were issued, including a $300 fine for a repeat offender, and one dog was impounded.

“Welcome to the fun park,” Harris says as we pull into the Manukau animal shelter.

The dog that was impounded, a young-looking, white Bulldog cross, is scanned for a microchip, weighed, photographed, and put into a concrete kennel to await its fate. If no owner is found or comes forward, impounded dogs are subjected to a temperament test. If they pass, they are put up for adoption. If they fail, they are held for seven days, before being euthanised. 

According to the council’s most recent report, of the 4,770 dogs that were not reunited with their owners, less than 10%, or 455 dogs, were adopted. A total of 4,007 dogs, or 84% of unclaimed dogs, were euthanised at the ratepayer’s cost.

“It’s a good feeling if you can reunite every dog with its owner,” Peters says.

Auckland currently has three shelters, with a fourth soon to be opened in Pukekohe, though that particular shelter will be solely an adoption centre. Despite the ongoing issues around a lack of adequate resourcing and government agencies such as Kāinga Ora failing to play their part, the council is hopeful that its proactive approach and education efforts will bear more fruit as opposed to a punitive approach. 

Meanwhile, it continues to pour over $172m of ratepayer money into regulatory services, including animal management.

“If people were responsible dog owners, there wouldn’t be a need for animal management officers,” says the council representative.