Local laws officers to conduct dog inspections in Berserker, Rockhampton

The Rockhampton suburb with the highest number of animal complaints will see council officers inspect backyards to ensure dogs are registered and secured.

An animal inspection program will be held in Berserker from April to June.

Rockhampton Regional Council officers will descend on the region’s suburb which has the highest number of animal complaints to stamp out issues with unsecured and unregistered dogs.

The three month animal inspection of Berserker comes as a boy continues to recover from a vicious dog attack on January 5 on Philip Street.

A six-year-old boy, Dante, was reportedly playing in the backyard when a neighbour’s dog mauled his face.

Dante had his cheek ripped open and was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery for three hours and had 30 stitches.

The matter was reported to council and the dog, an American Staffordshire, was picked up by council officers within an hour.

Council planning and regulatory councillor Grant Mathers said Berserker was chosen for the animal inspection program as “it is one of the region’s areas with the highest number of reported animal related issues and complaints”.

The program will carry out inspections of backyards to check if dogs are registered and secured appropriately and run from April 2 to June 23.

The dog that reportedly attacked Dante still remains at the pound while council continues to investigate.

Speaking to this publication this week, Dante’s mum Faith Copland said it was frustrating to hear the dog had not been put down.

“Knowing it nearly killed my son … and it’s still alive,” she said.

“It should have been put down straight away.”

Faith said although Dante’s physical condition had improved and his stitches were out, he was still struggling after brutal attack.

“He still has a lot of nightmares; if he sees a dog come near him, he freaks out and screams,” she said.

“It’s more the trauma now and the nightmares that we are dealing with at the moment.”

Mr Mathers said the decision to select Berserker as the chosen locality for the next program was recommended in December and there was no direct link between this and the attack on January 5.

“This program not only promotes responsible pet ownership by emphasising the significance of registering and securing pets to prevent them from wandering, but also enables council to ensure residents are complying with our local laws,” he said.

“These laws help safeguard the welfare of animals, facilitate the reunion of lost pets with their owners, and minimise risks to community safety.”

While local laws officers do have the authority to issue fines, voluntary compliance with dog owners will be sought in the first instance.

ANIMAL INSPECTION PROGRAM

Berserker:

• April 1 to June 23
• 7am to 6pm
• Monday to Sunday