Death Row Dog May Be Back Home, Court Told

[lillim]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/27/2910526.htm

A court has been told it is possible a pet dog whisked from death row is back at its home in the south-east of South Australia.

Lawyers for the District Council of Grant said there had been recent attacks on livestock around Ron Gilbertson's property.

The court heard it could mean the staffordshire cross is back home.

Mr Gilbertson 'dog-napped' his pet Max from an animal clinic last year after the council ordered it should be destroyed for attacking other animals.

District Court Judge Peter Brebner has now given approval for the council to prosecute Mr Gilbertson for contempt for failure to return the dog.

He has also excused the council from personally serving a summons on the Mount Gambier man because council officers have not been able to find him either.

Article from when this happened

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/18/2689659.htm

On the run: 'Death row' dog and owner offer surrender

Police say a dog owner seems ready to surrender after being on the run since he broke his dog out of 'death row'.

Ron Gilbertson's staffordshire cross, Max had been ordered to be destroyed by Grant District Council in South Australia's south-east for mauling sheep and other dogs.

Police say the man went to visit his dog for a last time at an animal clinic early last week but cut the dog out of a cage with wire clippers.

They say the man and his dog fled, leaving a wife and two children behind.

Andy Stott from Mount Gambier police says Mr Gilbertson has now been in touch with police and seems keen to come home.

"He's basically given himself up, so I suggest that he does the right thing and brings the dog with and gets the whole situation over and done with," he said.

Police say it may now be the job of a magistrate to decide Max's fate and his owner may also face a hefty bill from the council over earlier court proceedings.

[Alyosha]

He broke the dog out and left his wife and kids behind? :D

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

something very wrong with this man.

[Okami]

He broke the dog out and left his wife and kids behind?

What a Fruit-Loop!

[Cheyd]

*** UPDATE ***

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/811236...death-row-dodge

A man who loved his dog so much he busted it out of death row, abandoned his family and went on the run has been sentenced to six weeks in jail.

Ronnie Gilbertson's Staffordshire terrier-cross Max was to be destroyed last year by Grant District Council, in South Australia's southeast, after mauling a neighbour's dog.

Gilbertson, 42, a former champion boxer, was given time to say goodbye to Max.

But instead he made headlines by freeing the dog with boltcutters and fleeing to Western Australia, leaving behind his partner and two children.

Gilbertson was arrested in July and later pleaded guilty to contempt of a court order for him to return the dog.

His defence counsel Joana Fuller told the court Max had been euthanased by a vet in Perth after biting another dog.

She urged Judge Peter Brebner to impose a suspended sentence, saying Gilbertson's love of his dog clouded his decision making and judgment.

But Judge Brebner disagreed, jailing Gilbertson for six weeks, less 10 days for time served, to show that the community must obey court orders.

He said Gilbertson's failure to comply was "wilful and continuous".