An unlicensed pitbull was euthanised after it attacked another dog, and its owner was fined $1,500.

Damon Rabain, 46, said that his dog, Diesel, was an otherwise friendly dog and that it attacked a Jack Russell terrier, named Bentley, in self-defence.

He told Magistrates’ Court on Thursday: “He was a very friendly dog and played with every dog in the neighbourhood.

“He tried to play with this dog, Bentley, but it was aggressive and attacked him first.

“If Diesel wanted to kill him he could have, but instead he just bit him and ran off.”

Rabain added: “The same day my son’s mom died, the vet called me to say that my dog’s been put to sleep.

“I couldn’t tell my family for months. My dog was put down all because he did what dogs do.”

The court heard that, on January 15, Erica Smith, the owner of Bentley, heard her dog make a strange noise while he was outside her home in Smith’s.

She investigated and discovered Diesel biting the terrier while he was on top of him.

Ms Smith and another bystander separated the two and the pitbull ran down the street and escaped through a set of hedges.

She asked a boy, who watched the incident if he knew who the dog belonged to. He confirmed that he belonged to his father, the defendant.

Crown prosecutor Kenlyn Swan said that on January 28 an animal warden arrived at Rabain’s home and informed him of the attack before they seized the dog.

Ms Smith confirmed the same day that Diesel was the dog who had attacked her terrier.

A background check revealed that Diesel had been unlicensed and lacked an identification collar without a validated reason, which could not confirm if the dog had been obtained from a legitimate source.

Diesel was euthanised shortly afterwards.

Yesterday, Rabain pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog that caused injury to another dog, being the owner of an unlicensed dog and having obtained a dog from an illegitimate source.

He told the court that he had paid for Bentley’s $240 veterinary bill after he was treated for minor wounds.

Rabain added that he had taken Diesel, who was the son of his first dog, to be licensed, but was told that it was unnecessary.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe fined Rabain $500 for each offence and ordered him to pay by November 30.

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