A pet dog has been strangled on a defective catchpole while rangers tried to move the animal to a council facility in Perth. The incident unfolded when staff were transferring the staffordshire bull terrier cross, reportedly named Snowflake, from a vehicle to a dog pen at the City of South Perth’s Animal Care Facility in Como on September 19. “When rangers attempted to release the dog from the pole, the mechanism on the device failed,” city chief executive Mike Bradford said.
The pole is used to keep the animal at a safe distance. ‘Unregistered and unpredictable’ South Perth officials said Snowflake had come to their attention because of several reports about an “unregistered and unpredictable” dog wandering alone without its owner in Kensington, with concerns raised for local children. Bradford said the city’s rangers were confronted by a defensive and aggressive animal when they tracked it down, and that is when it was decided to restrain it using a catchpole.