Dogs that mauled Brisbane jogger are spared being put down as council seeks tougher punishment for owner

Two dogs that attacked a Brisbane jogger will not be put down after a council said it is pursuing tougher penalties against their owner. 

Ajay Malik, 37, was jogging through 7th Brigade Park in Chermside on Friday night when the dogs attacked, leaving him with life-threatening injuries to his face and arms.

The Brisbane real estate agent remains in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital undergoing treatment.

The dogs, named Louis and Ruby, are described as a bulldog-American Staffordshire terrier cross and a bulldog-boxer cross. 

Brisbane City Council initially ordered the dogs to be destroyed on October 17 but withdrew the notice earlier this week.

Instead, the local authority proposed they should be declared ‘dangerous’ dogs under Queensland law. The two animals remain at a council facility.

The decision would allow the council to pursue tougher measures against owner Layla Evans, 22, who could face a maximum penalty of $120,890 or two years’ imprisonment, depending on the offence, if convicted. 

The maximum fine available under the council’s local law, rather than the state legislation, is $51,810.

‘The seriousness of this attack demands the strongest possible response, which is why we’ve escalated our action to pursue much tougher penalties against the owner,’ the council told 7News.

‘We know people want swift action and so do we, but we must follow the State Government’s strict legal processes.’

Ms Evans was arrested in relation to a separate matter following the incident but has not been charged with any offence. 

She has 14 days from October 21 to answer the council’s proposed declaration regarding her dogs. The council will then consider her response before making any further decisions on the classification of the animals and any ‘destruction’ orders.

The pets reportedly escaped from a tent at a bushland campsite near the park, where Ms Evans had been living. 

In Brisbane, police said officers responding to the attack on Mr Malik were confronted with an ‘immediate and serious safety risk’.

After initial attempts to subdue the dogs failed, officers ‘were required to discharge their service firearms in response to the risk posed to members of the community and others at the scene’, Queensland Police told Daily Mail this week.

One dog was captured on Friday night and the other on Saturday morning.

The council said the dogs were registered to the same address and had not previously been declared dangerous.

Mr Malik’s family have launched a $300,000 fundraising campaign to help cover his recovery and living expenses.

Meanwhile, police said they were unable to determine whether the dogs were involved in the death of a man whose body was found nearby.

Officers found the 48-year-old man’s body in bushland off Kittyhawk Drive at Chermside just before midday on Sunday, October 18.