ACAT confirms dangerous pitbull 'Buddha' should be destroyed

Orders to destroy a dangerous dog that attacked at least one person and another animal have been confirmed.

The pitbull cross breed ‘Buddha’ attacked a stranger without provocation, posed a risk to public safety and other animals, and there was no real prospect of him being rehomed, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) found in its decision.

Buddha was owned by Lisa Rapson, formally known as Lisa Pye. He was allegedly seen roaming around the suburb of Bonner numerous times between July and November 2020, acting aggressively and trying to attack people.

For instance, he apparently repeatedly tried to bite one person on the leg and harassed a mother and child.

Also, he and another of Ms Rapson’s dogs had fought in March 2020, resulting in multiple serious bites to the latter.

Rangers seized Buddha in 2021 and a dog trainer and assessor found him to be dangerous, describing him as a dog “that will bite and injure a person when he feels the need, without hesitation”.

Ms Rapson was served a notice to destroy Buddha as he posed an unacceptable safety risk, but she asked ACAT to review the decision. It was set aside for him to be declared a dangerous dog, which meant she had to be issued a special licence for him.

But in November 2021, she was not complying with the conditions of the licence as he was not muzzled, was not wearing a dangerous dog collar and she was not holding onto his lead when he ran off and bit a stranger on the leg in Dickson.

The man went to hospital with three small penetrative wounds to his leg and suffered from ongoing pain for some time afterwards.

Buddha was seized and ordered to be destroyed. Ms Rapson applied for a review of this decision, but it was originally confirmed by ACAT in May 2022, which found Buddha was “more dangerous now” than in 2021.

Ms Rapson appealed the matter to the ACT Supreme Court, and in September 2023, it was announced that she had been partly successful, as the court found she had been denied procedural fairness while the proceedings were before ACAT.

The Supreme Court remitted the matter to the tribunal for a rehearing on whether Buddha should be euthanised or some other order should be made.

In the second appeals tribunal, Ms Rapson’s lawyer argued while Buddha’s prognosis was “bleak” in 2021, he had been assessed by four different assessors since then, and none indicated he was “beyond rehabilitation”.

But a long-time dog trainer described Buddha as “an animal who has the propensity for great violence”, and also commented on “bull breeds” of dog like him.

“In the right ways, they’re amazing dogs, but in the wrong ways, they are incredible liabilities and will cause immense damage up to and including … fatal attacks that have occurred in Canberra over the last … 15 years that I’ve been here,” he said.

ACAT’s Presidential Member Juliet Lucy and Member Walter Hawkins said there was insufficient evidence to conclude Buddha had “matured” or the risk he posed when he was impounded had decreased significantly.

“In our view, the evidence, considered as a whole, overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that Buddha poses a risk to the safety of the public and other animals,” they said.

While they did find it was more likely than not he could be trained to be less aggressive and more obedient, they said this would not mean he would no longer pose a risk to public safety.

They dismissed the appeal and confirmed the original tribunal’s decision to destroy Buddha.