Supplied
Chopper, whose appearance was excused at the High Court in Rotorua, found himself in legal trouble after he bit holistic vet Dr Liza Schneider in the car park of her clinic in October 2021.
The fate of Chopper the dog, who bit a chunk of flesh from the arm of a holistic vet, once again hangs in the balance.
A High Court judge has granted Tauranga City Council leave to appeal the earlier dismissal of Dog Control Act charges laid in the wake of the bloody incident.
Justice David Wylie said during a hearing in Rotorua on Thursday that he would allow council to challenge the earlier ruling and set an appeal date of March 2 next year at the High Court in Tauranga.
Justice Wylie said of the initial judge-alone trial: “the focus appears to have been on the victim’s conduct rather than the defendant’s conduct.”
TONY WALL/STUFF
Dog owners descended on Tauranga District Court in June for the dangerous dog case involving Chopper (video first published in June, 2022).
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Council lawyer Nathan Speir said the issue of whether the rottweiler’s owner Helen Fraser “had effective control over the dog at the time of the attack hasn’t been examined before”.
He also claimed the initial trial judge made an “error of law” in his earlier determination.
He also argued an appeal would clarify issues around the Dog Control Act that would be of interest to the vet community “and others who find themselves in control of a dog they hadn’t anticipated being in control of”.
Speir also told the court an appeal was needed to ascertain “whether, on factual findings, the defence of total absence of fault was open to Ms [Helen] Fraser”.
Fraser, who represented herself, said this was a “very unique case, likely not to be repeated” and claimed the attack took place because the vet, Dr Liza Schneider, was “not complying with their own arrangements”.
Justice Wylie also said significant public interest in the case, and public interest in clarifying the absence of fault defence, also meant an appeal was warranted.
Fraser was initially charged under the Dog Control Act with owning a dog that had caused serious injury to a person after Chopper bit Schneider in the car park of her clinic in October 2021, after Fraser had taken him to be de-sexed.
Christel Yardley/Stuff
Dog owner, Helen Fraser, pictured before the initial trial while her rottweiler Chopper was in the Tauranga Pound.
Schneider was left with flesh hanging from her arm and permanent scarring – injuries that left her unable to pick up some animals.
A judge-alone trial in July dismissed the charge against Fraser after her lawyer, James Carter, argued “an absence of fault” on the part of the owner.
At that trial Carter insinuated that Schneider, a vet of 22 years, was to blame for the attack. The vet rejected this.
Nigel McGlone, manager of environmental regulation, said the council had filed an appeal of the district court’s decision to dismiss the charge against Fraser.
“Council believes the judge made an error of law, because he focused on the conduct of the victim, rather than the legal responsibility of the dog owner to control the dog,” said McGlone.
He said the appeal was in the public’s interest.
“Council sought advice from Crown Law, who agree that it is in the interest of the public to clarify this issue of law, as the outcome will have implications for all dog owners,” said McGlone.
Fraser’s son, Ryan Tarawhiti-Brown, said the family would fight the appeal and accused the council of being “power hungry crooks” who were “bullying” his mother.
supplied/Stuff
Helen Fraser and her dog Chopper.
“It feels like they are picking on the little guy,” he said. “They have bullied her from the start, even at one stage banning her from seeing Chopper at the pound because we brought in a dog behaviouralist to assess Chopper’s mental state.”
Tarawhiti-Brown said council had pursued the maximum penalty – up to a $20,000 fine or up to three years’ jail – and that while the appeal concerned charges against his mother, it also impacted Chopper’s future.
“Once again his life is in danger,” he said.
“If it was up to Tauranga City Council, then Chopper would be dead. Luckily a judge gave Chopper freedom from nine months spent locked in a tiny cage no bigger than a laundry. We were drained of every dollar we had and lived with the burden of not knowing if we were doing enough to save his life.”
Tarawhiti-Brown also criticised council for its last-minute appeal.
“What is affecting us the most is the council’s approach to this situation,” he said. “They waited until after the final appeal date to personally inform my mum they had appealed, making us think it was all over.
“I am angered that they will take a ‘win at all costs’ approach to this situation and will use ratepayers’ money to do so.”
