Freedom at a price

Shani, Sam, Coen and Nikita say they were forced to pay $300 to free their dogs from pound after they were picked up by council's local law officers.Shani, Sam, Coen and Nikita say they were forced to pay $300 to free their dogs from pound after they were picked up by council’s local law officers.

By Kelly Yates
A NARRE Warren woman says she was forced to pay $300 to free her dogs from the pound last week.
Sam Wyatt told the News she was disappointed at the treatment she received from Casey council last Wednesday after her two Staffy dogs, Hollie and Mack, aged two and three, wandered from her Ireland Avenue home.
Ms Wyatt said the dogs were picked up by one of council’s local laws officers who told the 35-year-old over the phone that if she organised for someone to collect the dogs, they would not be sent to the pound.
Ms Wyatt said within 40 minutes of the phone call, the local laws officers had gone back on their word, and shipped the dogs off to the pound in Pearcedale.
“This was the first time they had wandered off and I still don’t know how they got out,” she said.
City of Casey director of corporate services Steve Dalton confirmed that council’s local laws officers collected two wandering dogs in the Narre Warren area last week.
He said both dogs were unregistered and did not have identification tags.
“Council’s local laws officers made every effort to re-unite the owner with their wandering dogs; however, the owner could not commit to collecting the dogs within a reasonable timeframe,” he said.
“We took into consideration council’s requirements to comply with the Department of Primary Industry’s code of practice for the transportation of animals and based on the time and welfare of the dogs and other animals in the vehicle, the decision was made to deliver them to the pound.”
Ms Wyatt claims that one council worker said the actions of the Narre Warren resident proved that she was an irresponsible pet owner.
She collected her dogs from the pound on Thursday, saying her three children, aged 8, 11 and 14, were thrilled to get them back.
Mr Dalton said pet owners in the City of Casey had a responsibility to ensure that animals were registered, had identification tags and were properly contained within their owners’ property to ensure the safety of the community.