Chantelle Nolte has urged Casey Council to review the safety of its pet registration tags following the death of her puppy.
By Rebecca Fraser
A NARRE Warren woman has called on Casey Council to change its pet registration tags following the death of her dog.
Chantelle Nolte has been devastated by the loss of her sharpei-Staffordshire puppy Angel, who was found lying dead on his back in her boyfriend’s back yard.
Ms Nolte claimed the puppy’s registration tag had become caught on a stick protruding from a fence and her pet had then struggled to break free and remove the stick from the tag.
In the process Ms Nolte believes the collar became tangled and subsequently strangled the puppy.
The 19-year-old student has urged Casey Council to review the safety of its registration tags and said the current ones were far too loose, allowing animals to easily get caught on things.
Ms Nolte said council should instead provide a flat and engraved disc and warned other pet owners to be wary of the tags.
However, Casey Council said it was impossible to confirm whether the tag or the collar caused the death and the council had not been informed of similar incidents.
Casey manager customer service Rob Colling said the tag was standard issue and distributed right across Victoria.
He said the council was not considering replacing the tags.
Mr Colling said that following the incident involving Ms Nolte’s pet, he had also contacted other municipalities who also said they had no record of any incidents where a pet had been harmed by the tag.
“It could not be proven whether it was the collar or the tag,” Mr Colling said.
“It is one of those freakish things where unfortunately we will never be able to know the full facts.
“The tags would have been thoroughly examined and tested before they were issued,” he said.
Mr Colling said removing the registration tags was not advisable as pet owners could face fines or lose their pets or find them ending up at the pound.
Ms Nolte spent $695 for the puppy, her entire savings, and said she was bitterly disappointed that council had only given her an $18 refund for the outstanding registration.
“That is not going to bring Angel back. We spent every day together and I saved and saved to buy her. “She was like a baby to me. I held her for about an hour after she died. I did not want to let her go,” she said.
“Council needs to look at the design of these tags. You just don’t think that something so tragic could happen,” she said.
Ms Nolte said she would now save for a new pet but would struggle to raise enough money.
