Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
The owners of a dog fatally shot by police in Christchurch this week want to know why it happened.
Police said Maverick, a seven-year-old dog, was shot on Monday when it attacked a police dog and handler who were chasing an intruder through a back yard.
Owner Jessica Inglis said she and her partner were not home when Maverick was shot. She said they had lost a much-loved family member and did not understand why the officer resorted to shooting Maverick.
" don't understand why he didn't use pepper spray. We've been told and we've read multiple comments of police have used pepper spray on dogs - it is effective by the sounds of it.
"So why couldn't they do that? ... Maverick isn't a dangerous dog."
Inglis said Maverick was an amazing, kind-natured dog who helped her partner through some tough situations.
She said it was unclear if the officer warned the landlord who was home at the time they entered the property, and they had heard conflicting accounts of what happened from police, the landlords and neighbours and wanted to find out the truth.
They were now considering legal action to find out if the shooting was justified and what could be done to prevent it happening to someone else.
She believed if it had been a police dog that was shot, the reaction from police would be very different.
"It's very unfair because how is his life any different? You've just taken a life. You haven't just taken our family member, you've taken my partner's best friend, you've taken the person who got him out of the most difficult situations."