NRL star Jai Arrow’s dog to be declared dangerous following Bronte attack

An Origin star’s staffy which mauled a smaller dog near an eastern suburbs beach will be declared ‘dangerous’, with the local council launching a blitz on off leash dogs.

The dog of an NRL star which viciously attacked a smaller dog in Sydney’s east and left the owner with a $10,000 vet bill, is set to be declared as ‘dangerous’.

Bronte resident Kate Muir was walking her mini-schnauzer, Millie, on a leash along the Bronte Beach promenade on April 11 when an off-lead American Staffordshire Bull Terrier made a beeline towards the pair and attacked Millie for almost a minute, leaving her with life-threatening injuries.

Rabbitohs star Jai Arrow later apologised for the incident, saying it was the fault of his American staffordshire terrier Thor, which was being walked by his housemate and teammate Liam Knight at the time.

Jai Arrow apologised after his dog Thor (right) attacked a small dog in Bronte. Picture: Jerad Williams

A NSW Police spokesman said officers were investigating the attack and had not laid any charges.

But a Waverley Council spokeswoman revealed it was issuing a notice of intention to declare the dog dangerous and would undertake a blitz on dogs off lead.

“We also understand that police will be taking enforcement action separate to council,” the spokeswoman said.

Under NSW law, a dangerous dog is declared as such by an authorised council officer or a Local Court, because it has attacked, killed or repeatedly threatened a person or animal while unprovoked.

Owners of dangerous dogs must pay a $195 annual permit on top of their one-off lifetime pet registration fee, according to the NSW Government.

According to the NSW Office of Local Government, a dangerous dog can be seized if it is not registered as dangerous with council, desexed and microchipped. It must be muzzled and under the control of a competent person by chain, cord or leash at all times when away from its home, and there must be “dangerous dog” warning signs at the dog’s home.

The dog must also be kept away from children and can’t be sold or given to another owner.

The update comes as new statistics reveal nearly 40 per cent of dogs responsible for attacks in the Waverley LGA in the past 12 months were off their lead when they should not have been.

Millie the Schnauzer who was brutally attacked while she was being walked on her lead. Picture: supplied

The figures, provided exclusively to the Southern Courier, also showed one in three attacks involved some type of staffordshire.

In the Waverley area there were 13 substantiated dog attacks in the past year, including five which were off their leads in strictly on-lead areas. A person was injured in five of the attacks, an animal was hurt in 10 of them and four of them involved a staffordshire or staffordshire cross breed.

However, the RSPCA’s head vet has warned all dogs could become aggressive, irrespective of breed, and has shared how owners can help prevent their dogs from hurting others as well as how to recognise when a dog is about to pounce.

RSPCA NSW chief veterinarian Dr Liz Arnott said she was not surprised many attacks occurred when dogs were off their leashes, adding she felt Australia’s leash laws were sufficient but often owners did not understand they must have control of their dogs at all times.

“Firstly, people should follow the rules and keep their dogs on leads when required,” she said.

“And yes, we have off-leash areas, but people need to be very, very cautious of those environments because of the risk. So you need to know your dog is well-trained, has good recall and really knows how to appropriately communicate with other dogs.”

RSPCA NSW head vet Dr Liz Arnott said all dogs have the potential to be aggressive.

Dr Arnott said certain breeds were over-represented in dog attack statistics but that could be skewed by the popularity of the breed.

“There is also likely to be a reporting bias, because there is potential for all breeds to show aggressiveness. Larger dogs are likely to report more damage, where as a small chihuahua can shown fierce behaviour but is less likely to hurt other dogs.”

While conceding genetics also influence behaviour and some breeds were historically chosen for the very trait of showing force, ultimately all dogs could bite and there needed to be more focus on “holistic prevention”.

Kate Muir with Millie

For owners, preventing aggression starts at the beginning of their dogs lives and involves teaching them to recognise other dogs as their own and be comfortable around them.

Secondly, she said it was crucial to keep dogs well fed, healthy and active so that they don’t become stressed and frustrated.

“Most dogs will try to avoid confrontation because it’s not their evolutionary benefit to fight and risk getting wounded, but when a dog is very stressed or even very excited, they don’t think very effectively and so they’re much more likely to revert to extreme behaviours like aggression,” she said.

“The other type of aggression is predatory, and in those cases, some dogs are really motivated to chase movement of another animal, and that’s a different emotional state to fear or anxiety”.

Waverley Council said it will crack down on off leash dogs at Bronte Beach promenade and other areas. Picture: Jeremy Piper

For owners whose dogs either become the instigator or target of aggression to or from another dog, Dr Arnott said it was important to increase distance, saying dog-to-dog anger and dog-to-human anger are different so there is usually little risk in picking up the dog.

“Do not be shy about calling out to another owner to ask them to leash their dogs,” she said.

“You can also carry an umbrella, because if you or your dog were genuinely threatened or you could try startling the other dog.”

Lastly, Dr Arnott said it was important to educate the public about safe and appropriate handling of dogs — particularly parents and children as kids were over-represented in reported dog injuries.