Hello All. I'm new to this and not quite sure where to look and how to post up questions in order to get some honest advice from outsiders.If you can kindly spare some time and if possible give me your honest opinion regarding the scary predicament i am in.
I have a beautiful boy named Pookie. He is Shar Pei cross Staffy and will be turning four years old soon. He is up to date with his registration and is microchipped. I got him from Darwin when i was living there for almost a year. When i headed back to Melbourne, i bought Pookie a plane ticket and took him to Melbourne when he was almost one years old. My parents own a farm in Darwin and they had at one stage almost 14 dogs. They had jack russell's, blue healers, great dane, bulldogs just to name a few. People within the rural suburb would ask my dad if he would look after their dog/s while they moved interstate. My dad would never say no to a dog. Stray dogs and cats would always come to our farm and in the end be apart of our family. My dad is an animal lover and thats where i think i got my love for animals from.
Pookie has recently been seized by my council as they believe he is a PIT-BULL type dog. They have stressed to me that they believe he has Shar Pei in him however, they strongly believe that he is 80% Pit-bull. The day before Pookie was seized unfortunately he escaped from the house while i was at work and saw two young ladies walking their dogs. Pookie got excited and wanted to go play with the dogs, unfortunately the other male dog was being protective of the female dog which led to all three dogs barking at each other.
One of the kids, a couple houses down from me, saw Pookie and called him back, at that time Pookie and the other two dogs were still barking at each other when Pookie got called again by the neighbour he turned around to run back into the house but apparently there was a little eight year old boy behind him. Yhe mother panicked as she thought Pookie was lunging/rushing at her bog but Pookie just ran off back to my house. Bear in mind that there was no contact made between Pookie and the child nor the other two dogs. Pookie has never attacked anyone ever before and is well liked by the children in the neighbourhood.
Unfortunately as i wasn't there at the time of the incident, i don't know what exactly happened. I was only told of bits and pieces but im still not clear on what had actually happened. I have passed on a message to the council workers to relay back to the victims that i sincerely apologise if Pookie had lunged/rushed at the boy and pray that he has not been traumatized by the incident and hope he can still live a happy stress free life.
The following day after this incident, one of the young lady who was walking her dogs called the council and reported that Pookie allegedly lunged/rushed at her son. She did state to them that there was no physical contact between Pookie, her son or her dogs however, the council acted with that statement and proceeded to seize Pookie. I commend the Council for acting fast as i know they are doing their jobs however, i wish they know that by pushing for Pookie to be destroyed they will be killing a piece of me. I am a very sensitive and emotional person and that drives me crazy some times because i think with my heart and not with my head.
I later got home from work that afternoon to find the council rangers parked in front of my house. I was oblivious to what was going on until my partner explained what had happened. They then stated that they are seizing my dog under Section 81 as they believe that i have trained or urged my dog to attack or he has attacked. Which is definitely not true, i would never do such things as train a dog to attack. They then stated that they will be taking him and i should surrender him over to be destroyed as they strongly believe without scientific evidence that my son is a Pit-bull and a dangerous dog that should not co-exist in this suburb.
I love Pookie with all my heart and would never surrender him over as he has never hurt anyone before. I begged them not to take him but i had no power to stop them. Without hesitation or a doubt in their minds they had already decided to kill my son and they told me to sign papers to surrender him over to them. I was in tears and could not stop crying. They then stated that if i don't surrender him over to them then this matter will be taken to court and heard in front of a magistrate and the magistrate can decide on whether Pookie should be destroyed or not. They clearly stated that they will be pushing for a court order to have Pookie destroyed.
I was so upset and sad and was up the next three nights crying myself to sleep. My boss even had to send me home the day after the incident. I just could not believe that this has happened to me. The thought of losing Pookie was like having my heart ripped out slowing without mercy.
Later that week i had a formal interview with the Council who tried to pursuede me to surrender Pookie over to them as it will be good for the community. They had pictures of Pookie and pictures of a Pit-bull, comparing photos side by side and that's how they make judgement of a dogs breed. I could not believe what they were telling me, i was in shock as my son's life is on the line because of a photo comparison they have made. They then started reading out statements of people calling through to report that a medium tan coloured dog was at large. Within the statements they read out to me, there were reports of German Shepards, small white dogs and a stray dog. I was so confused.
In the end i decided to do whats right and fight for my son until the end. I owe him that much, to not give up on him at all. He is not just a dog to me, he is my family. HE IS MY SON!. I've previously lost a baby and was so upset when that happened. Pookie was there for me when i got out of hospital. He used to snuggle next to me and always curled up to me, he would lick and kiss me when i cried and showed me that he would always be there for me. When i used to turn away from him, he would get closer to my face and use his nose to try to get me to look at him. It was so adorable. Now the thought of losing another child is beyond me. Words cannot express how upset i am yet im so angry at myself. I keep asking myself... what did i do wrong? how could i have prevented this from happening? did i know this was going to happen? am i a bad mother? does he hate me?
I've always considered myself as a great mum to Pookie. I would always fee him his all wormer chews, i shower him once a week with medicated Melaseb Shampoo, exercised him daily in our backyard playing fetch, fed him premium dog food, took him to the vet when he had mites, celebrate his birthday and christmas with him, mind you Pookie always got 10 times more presents than i ever have from my family members, but most importantly i gave him the love and nurture he desired. I sincerely thought without a doubt that i am a great mum and a responsible owner, but this goes to show that i am neither. Please forgive me Pookie and know i love you and will do all i can to bring you home as soon as i can.
I have finally been granted visitation rights and visit him every week. He is always happy to see me. I also bring him schmakos, denta chews and toys for him. The shelter workers who look after Pookie and all seized dogs love Pookie. They say he is a very good smart and affectionate dog. They talk to me about him when im there and they strongly believe that Pookie is definitely Shar Pei cross Staffy, from the way he acts, his affection to them and especially the way he lays down with all four legs out and stomach flat to the ground. They said that only Staffys can lay the way Pookie lays. They strongly expressed that compared to actual Pit-Bull they have in the shelter that has been seized or destroyed, Pookie looks nothing like the Pit-Bull's they see on a daily basis. I was advised from them to hire an independent accredited Dog Breed Assessor to come in assess Pookie because they are more qualified then the council workers and if the assessment comes back that Pookie is more Shar Pei cross Staffy then it would assist Pookie in court. I tried looking in Google but could not find what i'm looking for.
I have also been provided with a Notice of Declaration of a Restricted Dog Breed. After reading the documents my jaw dropped. I dont know what to do or where to start. I don't want my son to be locked in a cage and isolated from his family. He should be with his family who love and adore him and not outside. As Autumn and Winter is approaching, it will be too cold for him. He has never slept outside in his whole life. Pookie is a house dog. He is housed trained and sleeps on the bed with me. It doesn't feel right going to bed at night knowing that Pookie is far away from me.
I sincerely beg you. May you spare some time to provide me with some advise. I LOVE my son so much and it has been quite difficult the past three weeks without him. I just want an outside opinion on the matter.
The main question is:
Can the magistrate give a court order to destroy Pookie when he has never hurt or attacked anyone before?
Can i possibly win, if i appeal with VCAT, regarding the declaration of a Restricted Dog Breed?
Why have i been served with this declaration when the council said they are pushing for a court order to destroy Pookie?
What would you do if you were in my shoes?
I truly want to express my gratitude for reading this far. Please let me know what you think regarding this case
