9-Year-Old Girl Wants Gov't To Be More Responsible After Losing Pet Ram

People can sometimes get too attached to their pets that they consider them a part of their family. Some even treat them like humans. Even though they're animals, pets can form a strong bond with their owners, and losing one, especially tragically, can be heartbreaking.

Awatea Moeke, who lives together with her family in a farm 28 kilometers from Havelock North, lost her pet ram to a dog attack in May. But Buster was no ordinary farm animal; he was part of the Moeke family that also included a rescued chicken, a fox terrier and a one-eyed cat.

What made Buster special particularly to the 9-year-old was that his death sparked her will to “start a petition” for the Government to take charge in giving dog owners more responsibility for their pets in addition to them changing “their dog's behavior.”

“I want the owner to be changed to a nice owner and not let their dogs do bad things,” Moeke told Stuff. The seemingly innocent yet strong statement came from a girl who buried her pet ram in a paddock next to their house.

She even hand-painted the tomb of stones where Buster now lies.

In support of her advocacy, Awatea's father, John Moeke, said that they were in the early stages of the petition and were even planning to speak with local rural groups and schedule a talk with schools to “raise awareness” that Awatea had been pursuing.

John also hoped that they could get “at least 100 signatures” before Awatea presents her petition to the Parliament before Christmas.

In addition, the source added that the attack that led to Buster's death wasn't an isolated issue.

On September 8, 16 sheep were reported to have been killed in Waimarama after the same dogs that killed Buster attacked livestock near the Moeke property. The animals were seized but were “originally released” to their respective owners.

According to John Payne, the dogs were released after the May attacks because of “evaluating factors.” He included, among others, “the seriousness of the offense, the classification of the dog, the impact to the victim” and “the actions of the offending dog owner” before and after the attacks.

The Hastings District Council Solutions manager also considered that the incident didn't necessarily “warrant prosecution” and that an “infringement fine is greater than a court-imposed fine.”

Hawke's Bay Federated Farmers president Jim Galloway on the other hand feels that the council is not taking the attacks seriously.

“They happen all over the place,” said Galloway in relation to his dog attack experience on his eight calves.

His father, who lives in the Bay of Plenty, was also a victim and had his cows attacked.

On June 1, four in-lambs ewes, two of which were hand-reared and a ram, were also attacked by dogs in a paddock on Bibby Lane, Waipawa.