Dogs Currently On Trial In Vic

[huck house]

Dogs On Trial DOT Victoria

MONDAY ROUND UP, WHAT'S HAPPENING

KERSER. His application for Appeal was lodged last week in the Supreme Court of Victoria, and we have been told there is a directions hearing next week in Supreme Court. We don't think a decision is expected, as it has been stated that it is a directions hearing.

From Google,

"A directions hearing is a brief hearing in front of a judge. It is a chance for the judge to discuss the progress of the appeal and give ‘directions’ to the parties. "

Sorry we can't give any more info on this, but this is all we know at the moment.

We will update when we hear any news.

ROCKET AND DOUGIE. Both have now completed their VCAT hearings, and all we can do now is wait for the decisions. Hopefully they will both get the right decision this time, and will be going home shortly. Once again, we will update when we hear any news on these two decisions. Wishing both Dougie and Rocket, together with their owners all the best. Love and hugs from all of us, as this must be a terribly anxious time for all of them.

KERSER AND ROCKET are now both entered in a Pets of the Year competition. We will post the links for you to vote for them. It would be wonderful to see them take the top 2 positions in the comp. You can vote for both of them, and you can vote every day. Please support them both.

ROCKET'S owner has kindly offered to help ForDogsSake Australia if he should win.

From Rocket's page, "We Would love Rocket to Win & We Would Love for FOR DOGS SAKE AUSTRALIA TO BE OUR CHARITY OF CHOICE TO WIN $5000 IN CASH TO HELP OTHER DOGS LIKE ROCKET."

Thank you so much Arthur, that is a lovely thing to do.

After this post, we will post up the links to Rocket and to Kerser in the Pets of the year competition, and will continue to do this each day to remind people to vote. It does state that to be considered for a prize, a pet only needs to gain 10 votes, however, it is good to show with our votes, the popularity and support for these lovely dogs and their owners. Keep up the great work everyone.

STICKERS. Part of our sticker order is ready, and will be collected shortly. We will then commence sending out the orders. The rest of our order will be finished next week. Sorry for the delay, but all will be sorted shortly, and thank you for your patience.

EMAILS to Members of Parliament, Councils and RSPCA. We will over the next few days re post the lists of email addresses, and some ideas of what you might like to send to the recipients. Some have answered your emails, and we think this is slightly promising. At least, they are all now aware just how much support is gathering against this BSL. Spreading the word to others is also important. A lot of the public have no idea what is happening, and we have found once they are aware of this, they are then joining us. Please keep up the pressure with the emails, and keep telling people what is going on.

We believe some questions have been listed in Parliament to be asked at a future date regarding this law, so this should be a good thing. There needs to be discussion and NOT just dismissal of our concerns, as we have seen in the media by the current Minister, Mr Walsh. We were a democracy last time I looked! Thanks to the MPs who are interested and who are willing to listen and ask questions.

Please remember to be polite when emailing.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has donated to us. You are great and your money will go directly to pay the legal costs to fight for all the dogs we have helped and help in the future. We have also had a lot of merchandise donated by supporters for our stalls which is fantastic, and we thank our supporters for all the hard work they put in with helping us. This is a group effort, and we all need to stick together to ensure our voice is heard.

And thank you to all the other anti BSL pages on facebook who have been so wonderful in supporting us, giving donations, and sharing our posts.

Don't forget to participate in the Anti BSL Global Protest that is being held in all states, and all over the world. The Anti BSL Peaceful Protest Victoria 2013 (Global Rally) is shaping up well I believe. Thanks Justin and Nas for the updates. Looking forward to seeing you all there on the 13th July.

Finally, regarding councils. We know not all councils are equal. Some are particularly nasty, and some show common sense and decency. We know there are some great council workers out there who do not agree with this legislation. I am sure they find this legislation very difficult to work with. Now is the time for these decent council workers to speak up about the failings of these laws. We do understand some may be hesitant to speak out due to repercussions in the work place. However, we urge these decent human beings, council employees, to speak out and let their feelings and thoughts be known to the Victorian Government and their local MPs. We know, this legislation is not beneficial to community safety, and it certainly is not in favour of animal welfare. The human toll is huge on the owners of targeted dogs, but it must also take it's toll on those council workers who are good people, and just want to see the community safe, and don't want to see good dogs sent to their death. Please speak up. There are viable alternatives. The government is aware of this.

If anything has been missed here, please let us know. I think that is all for this Monday update. Keep up the good work everyone. Don't ever give up. and........

SEND ROCKET, DOUGIE AND KERSER HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.Timeline Photos · Monday at 10:18pm · View Full Size · Report Photo

[Rascalmyshadow]

Rocket has won his court case and is now going home! :D

[huck house]

Rocket has won his court case and is now going home! :D

Awesome ! I think Channel seven news will cover it tonight .The VCAT judge loved dogs and refers to his own during the hearing . Thank Dog !!

[sumosmum]

The dogs still on trial in Victoria are,

Dougie, still waiting for the decision on his new VCAT hearing. Locked up for about 15 months. Moonee Valley CC

Mylo, yet to have his VCAT hearing, locked up for over 1 year. Brimbank CC

Kerser, who lost his Leave to Appeal in the Supreme court, but is now appealing against that loss of Leave to Appeal. Locked up since last December. Monash CC

[Rascalmyshadow]

Dougie just won his hearing and is going home!!! :D

[Staffyluv]

Mylo and Kerser to go..

Surely based on the outcomes for Rocket and Dougie the other two should go home as well..

Hopefully these cases will set some precedence as to the irrelevance of judging an animal on the way it looks - we live in hope!

[mita]

Hopefully these cases will set some precedence as to the irrelevance of judging an animal on the way it looks - we live in hope!

And so, so primitive. As out of date as identifying witches by moles on their body.

There is not one authoritative group who supports laws that are based on predicting behaviour from a dog's looks, alone. . Not the RSPCA, not the Australian Veterinary Association. No one in the world of research.

The fact that these dogs have remained sweet natured & non-aggressive, after being locked up, away from their families, for so long .... should be evidence of the poor science behind locking them up in the first place.

Why aren't the local government authorities who persist with this stuff, red-faced with embarrassment?

[Staffyluv]

You won't get any argument from me mita - I hate the stupid legislation.. The sooner it is gone the better..

[mita]

And, Staffy, it's so frustrating in the meantime. The dogs have proven the point!

[melzawelza]

What really angers me about Dougie was that he was seized at six months old and kept in a pound (Lost Dogs Home no less...) for fifteen months. How much catch up training are these owners going to have to do now!? Hopefully he hasn't developed any behavioural issues but I would be surprised if he came out of that unscathed. I would be absolutely furious if my ability to raise the best possible dog I could was ruined by this idiocy. The Council should have to pay for a few visits from a behaviourist.

[Staffyluv]

Mel, I think the owners should be allowed to see the dogs, train the dogs the whole time they are locked up.

I don't think they should be locked up at all but in the even that they are, the owners should have access to them.

Council should have to pay for a behaviourist to help the dogs assimilate back into society (after being locked up for so long).

Wouldn't it make much more sense to leave the dogs with the owner and set rules as to the dog can't go here or there without being on lead/muzzled etc until the court crap is finished - at least that way the owner could train and continue to bond with the animal.

Christ, it is all so bloody ridiculous, isn't it!

These dogs have proven, it has nothing to do with what a dog looks like - they need to change the law already.

[sumosmum]

What really angers me about Dougie was that he was seized at six months old and kept in a pound (Lost Dogs Home no less...) for fifteen months. How much catch up training are these owners going to have to do now!? Hopefully he hasn't developed any behavioural issues but I would be surprised if he came out of that unscathed. I would be absolutely furious if my ability to raise the best possible dog I could was ruined by this idiocy. The Council should have to pay for a few visits from a behaviourist.

Totally agree. Dougie is a very energetic young boy. He has come out the way you would expect (I think) a dog to come out of the pound. Being locked up as a pup, and spending well over a year in the pound is a shocking thing to do to a dog. Hopefully he will settle down and get some training.

It has always been a worry with all the dogs who have spent time in the pound and then sent home with the owners being given no support.

One dog was in there for well over a year, had pups, and the owners were handed back not 1 dog, but at least 5 or so large pups that were over a year old. It is a disgrace, truly it is. Don't have any contact with these people, so I can't say how they went after being released, but just the fact that this can happened is a shocker. The Government and the councils don't care though..