mizzpiggy

Where has your dog been for 5 months???? Some guy picked him up outside my house and kept him for 6 months. He must have got out from that place and because he was microchipped we were contacted.

Understand that buying a dog with papers is a good and safe way to go. The fact is it is not illegal to buy a pup from a non registered breeder. I had that argument with the council after they said perhaps next time I should get papers with a dog assuming that I would not get him back, I did nothing illegal if they don't want me to buy a dog the way i did then make it illegal, if not then don't judge me. I felt like I was being treated like some backyard Meth buyer.

Thanks to everyone’s support. On Tuesday the 31st we had an appeal hearing of the decision to register Aztec a restricted breed. After about a half an hour the panel agreed that Aztec was not a pit-bull. He was released to us the same day. At first he didn't recognize us and it took about 10 minutes. After that all that was on Aztecs mind was leaving the pound. I was warned by the panel that Aztec was very timid and I was probably fighting a lost cause and that he would have to be put down. Well BS to that he is not timid and came back to his old self within a day. It just goes to show that the pound traumatizes animals and therefore gives false impressions of dogs temperament. It saddens me to think that many dogs have been euthanized purely because the pound workers deemed them timid or unsociable. My husband and I are very happy that our Aztec is back and with a few good feeds he should be fit as a fiddle. I think this entire situation highlights how ignorant and uneducated council dog catchers are. Brings to mind images of the dog catcher from 100 and 1 Dalmatians. Absolutely useless and I have to pay for the privilege of proving so.

was Aztec registered before he got lost with another council at all? No unfortunatly i thought the central animals registration was the same thing...i found out later it was not by that time he was already missing. He was registered friday and they served me papers dated today and the 11th.

I had a s****t day today i have attached the two letters i wrote today to both the councils involved. Read if you want but they are pretty dry. I did ask under what grounds the Glen Eira council revoked the rego but the person i dealt with said "there is a clear line in the sand...he even reiterated by drawing a line on his paper pointing to the north of the line and saying this is what we are dealing with here.....then south of the line "this is when we get the lawyers involved and that will cost you." Yes i was treated as if I were a moron and I am so upset that I am going to knock on every door that I can to get the ball rolling. Letter one len EIra I registered my American Staffordshire on Friday 12/12/2008. I was informed by the Frankson City Council that if he was registered he would be released on Tuesday, he was suspected of being a restricted Breed. I was informed that I would need to sign a declaration but was not informed of the specifics of this declaration. I provided information to the Frankston City Council on Friday regarding the breed of Aztec which is American Staffordshire. I believed that I had convinced the Frankston City Council of Aztecs Breed. When I arrived at the North Cranbourne Dog Pound *Name* (of the Frankston City Council) asked to see Aztecs registration details. She then gave his registration papers to ***1 and ***2 from the Glen Eira city Council. ***1 then told me that Aztecs registration has been revoked and that I would be refunded my $13.15. Firstly I feel that to say I was due a refund is insulting as they know I had the expectation that I would be retrieving my Dog that has been missing for 6 months. Secondly under what Legislation has the council revoked my registration? I believe that registration can be revoke thought the correct process as defined by the Domestic (Feral & Nuisance) Animals Act 1994. I do not believe that the revocation of my registration was lawful. Can you please advise me otherwise? Part 10(3) or the above mentioned Act stipulates that a person has to include a declaration that a dog is of a restricted breed when registering, Aztec was not declared as a restricted breed at the time of registration, the council did not refuse to register Aztec and I received his papers (registration number *****). I understand that the Council has a duty of care to the public in regards to dangerous and menacing dogs. I also believe that the council has a duty of care to myself as a member of the general public. My dog has not been released to me because the Glen Eira City council in my interpretation has illegally revoked my dogs registration. I would like to formally request on which grounds this revocation had been allowed. I appreciate your time and await you imminent reply. Letter two Frankson: I registered my American Staffordshire on Friday 12/12/2008. I was informed by the Frankson City Council that if he was registered with Glen Eira he would be released on Tuesday, he was suspected of being a restricted Breed. I was informed that I would need to sign a declaration when the council released Aztec but was not informed of the specifics of this declaration. When I arrived at the North Cranbourne Dog Pound *name* (of the Frankston City Council) asked to view Aztecs registration details. She then handed his registration papers to ***1 and ***2 from the Glen Eira city Council. ***1 then told me that Aztecs registration has been revoked and that I would be refunded my $13.15. I provided proof that my dog Aztec was registered in Glen Eira. I do not understand on what grounds this registration has been revoked (investigation pending to the Glen Eira City Council) and Secondly under what Legislation has the Frankston City Council received the power to disregard Aztecs registration documentation and to hand them to a third party? I do not believe that the revocation of my registration was lawful However that is a matter for the Glen Eira city council and myself. Can you please advise me as to why the written documentation of Aztecs registration was ignored or overridden? I would also like to take this opportunity to address the manner as to which both ***officiers*** conducted themselves in my presence. I was very stressed when I was at the pound and I did not appreciate the idle Chit chat that I endured for over an hour in regards to the ladies new uniforms, I was frustrated that the ladies informed me that American Staffordshire Breeds do not have red noses. Please look this information up as it is wrong and highlights to me the low level of education that the officers have. Because my wife and myself have not received the guidelines as to how Aztec was determined to be a Pitbull this lack of knowledge made me very upset. I am very frustrated that I was led to believe that my dog was to be released, I have lost earnings as I took a full day off work to retrieve Aztec. My wife and I were eagerly awaiting the return of Aztec all weekend and I believe that the two women involved have been disrespectful to both myself and my wife. My wife requested the legislative information on Friday in regards to how the council determines that a dog is of American Pitbull Breed, she was not provided with this information. She also requested what parts of the Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act was pertinent to the retention of a restricted breed again this information was not supplied. It appears that our dog was seized on the 16 of December under section 80 of the above act. however the restricted Breed Dog Declaration is dated the 11 of December. Under what grounds has my dog been detained for the period from the 11th to the 16th? I appreciate your time in considering my request and await your imminent reply. I do apologize for the format of this request however my wife and I have had such an ordeal since Thursday evening it is very hard to report everything in a logical manner. Comments welcome

the Franston City Council refused to release him as they said the Glen Eira council has revoked his registration. The only reason they would have done this is if Frankston City Council called the Glen Eira council. This is so underhanded. My husband and I brought Aztec all new toys in anticipation for his return today, husband took the day off work to go to the pound only to be told that we would not be getting Aztec today.

The absolute best thing that I have tried on my Staffy who is a red nose and therefore has higher sensitivity to EVERYTHING!. Benadryl Original Formula... none of the fancy Chesty Forte stuff. My dog Cali was breaking out big time, Vet said mange Dermadectic Mange but I didn't think so. Also bought some shampoo from Dermacare off Ebay and use it once a week. She looks like a new dog, sure there are a few bumps once in a while but nothing compared to what she had previously (bumps and hair loss). Powder Vitamin C a teaspoon a day also helps. This has been the cheapest and most effective treatment considering I have no idea what it is that sets off her symptoms.

The absolute best thing that I have tried on my Staffy who is a red nose and therefore has higher sensitivity to EVERYTHING!. Benadryl Original Formula... none of the fancy Chesty Forte stuff. My dog Cali was breaking out big time, Vet said mange Dermadectic Mange but I didn't think so. Also bought some shampoo from Dermacare off Ebay and use it once a week. She looks like a new dog, sure there are a few bumps once in a while but nothing compared to what she had previously (bumps and hair loss). Powder Vitamin C a teaspoon a day also helps. This has been the cheapest and most effective treatment considering I have no idea what it is that sets off her symptoms.

I agree, they are unique

Nope my house is in the Glen Eira Council and that is where my dog is registered. The Frankston Council said because he was picked up there then the dog is in their jurisdiction. I would hope that that they don't just eye ball the dog to determine what breed it is, However I asked the council how they determined that Aztec is a Pitbull, I asked for the procedure which they follow but this information was not given to me. I was referred to the DPI government website but this only supplied me with the Legislature around what they have the right to do and not do, it did not provided me with any tests or measurements. I am thankful to the Frankston City Council but I am defiantly in favor of amending the law. In my situation when the dog has shown no signs of aggressive behavior and roaming was the only thing that he was doing wrong, the council should have to prove that he is a Pit-bull not the other way round. Or at the very least the owner should be given the opportunity to provide proof that the dog is not a Pit-bull before it is seized.

Hi Guys just reading all your replys and thought I should supply a little more information. there were a few questions does his information state 'staffy' or american staffordshire terrier? 'staffy' is open to interpretation. He is registered as an American Staffordshire Terrier both with the council, on his original vet certificate and subsequent vaccination records. Get the vet who originally vaccinated him and the breeder to confirm what he is meant to be, that will be a plus. I did try this however the breeder has changed their phone number. I do remember that when we picked him out from the litter he was the only red nose tan fur the rest were brindles and brown noses, had i known how much trouble his color would turn out to be I may have had second thoughts however I had only been living in Melbourne less than a year and didn't even know that Pit bulls were a restricted dog, I was living in Canada. If i had known I probably would have been a little more cautious. Was he originally stolen from you or escaped his yard? He escaped as we had just moved and didn't realise that there was a small fence with a loose pailing. My husband said he had secured the yard but we missed this gate. Is there any charges against him as well such as menacing or attack, or was he just found wandering the streets? He was found wondering no Biting or dangerous activity Your dog wasnt actually seized he was picked up wandering at large.When they seize a dog it usually means they go to someones house and take it coz its bit someone or something.If hes done nothing wrong Im sure youll get him back like another poster said pitbull arent banned just restricted in Vic and if you follow all the rules youll be allowed tokeep him Im sure They can seize a dog if they consider it to be a restricted breed, originally he was impounded but they seized him immediatly due to his appearance. I was told by the council that a restricted breed can no longer be registered in Melbourne if it has not been registered as a Pit bull prioir to 2005, that means that restricted dogs are allowed to be kept under certain circumstances but no new dogs are allowed. I asked if I could retrieve him and move to Brisban but was told no. Luckily I did not need to investigate this further however I got the impression that if Aztec was determined to be an American Pitbull he would have been destroyed. I will post a picture when Aztec returns tomorrow so everyone can take a look and see what they think I honestly don't know what he looks like as he has been missing for so long so. Thanks to Qute74 for posting Aztecs pic, my attempt failed dismally

Thanks so much for your support. I spent all day Friday calling Newspapers, councils, DPI even the Melbourne Mayor. Everyone told me that i have to deal with the council. I called the council but they were determined not to speak to me because I wasn't the registered owner. This in itself is upsetting considering my number was also on the microchip however the council said I am only the secondary owner and therefore they cannot disclose information to me. One council employee even told my husband to tell his wife to stop calling. Of course I called back immediately informing the council that I am a tax payer and I can call the council whenever I want to. I sent in all the information that I had available regarding my Aztecs breed. I got banned from the lost dog homes website, i think because i left a message for anyone to please call them asking to free Aztec. Probably shouldn't have done that but I was in a state and a half. Because the lady who originally seized Aztec wasn't working the following day I was going to have to wait until Monday before I could receive the papers I needed to appeal the suspected restricted dog status. I received a phone call at 4pm from a guy that works for the department of primary industries and he advised me that I could call the Coordinator of Municipal Laws to ask for my dogs release because the other lady was absent. I tried but she was not in the office. I left a message saying it was a matter of life and death. I know I am being overly dramatic however I wanted action. To cut a long story short (believe me you have the abridged version). My husband received a phone call at 4:45pm Friday letting him know that he could pick up Aztec Tuesday morning (tomorrow) and that the council has changed their mind. I have no idea why, but I am so happy, I am trying not to count my chickens but all things going as planned 10am tomorrow we should finally have our Aztec back to where he belongs after 6 months and 2 weeks of him being missing. I am extremely grateful to Frankston City Council for retrieving Aztec and I am very pleased that they were willing to accept that he is in fact an American Staffy. I understand that there is legislation in place to protect the public from dangerous animals however I think that the legislation needs a lot of work and that all dogs should be innocent until proven guilty.

<a href="http://s332.photobucket.com/albums/m335/mizzpiggy_2008/?action=view&current=bigazzie.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m335/mizzpiggy_2008/bigazzie.jpg" border="0" alt="Missing"></a>

I have been searching for my dog for over 5 months. Everyday I have searched the websites of impounded animals. Today I received a phone call from the Frankston City Council telling me they have found my American Staffy Aztec. The bad news is that the women who found my dog wondering in Frankston determined by her powers of observation that my dog is an American Pitbull. American Pitbulls are Banned in Victoria and can not be brought. I brought an American Staffy, the vet records from when he was a pup have him recorded as a Staffy, he is registered as a Staffy, However one women from the Frankston City Council has deemed my dog an American Pitbull. This is a ridiculous law, it is very hard to determine a breed of dog if they come from a recent common ancestor. I will be going to the lost dogs home tomorrow to see my dog. Apparently they have refused me to see my dog. I have to submit an appeal to the decision of one women it will take weeks. It will involve three Veterinarians to decide by a majority vote whether my dog is a Pitbull or not. Why if it takes three VETs to determine the breed can one council worker eyeball my Aztec and determine he is a pitbull. This is a form of cruelty, my dog is impounded and I am in heightened state of stress damn near Panic because of ONE WOMENS OPINION. I am furious and would really appreciate any attention I can get to retrieve my baby. I want my dog releases ASAP and I would appreciate any help or advice anyone can offer. I have called the council and they have told me that the officier that impounded the dog is not working today. The have not completed the paper work and I can do nothing until i Recieve the papers. Are they allowed to seize my dog without serving me papers telling me why they have done so?