Tango's Family to Sue Gold Coast Council

[tybrax]

Dog lovers claim Tango's NSW exile ruff justice
24Aug05

THE city's pitbull woes are far from over, with a couple from Labrador planning to take a fight over the removal of their beloved pet to court.

John Mokomoko and Kylie Chivers yesterday claimed the council's backflip of its controversial dog laws was a 'sidestep' that did not solve the region's restricted dog problems.

Mr Mokomoko said he intended to proceed with court action, pushing for a judicial review of the dog laws and the council's breeding identification standards.

"We are going ahead with claims for compensation," he said.

Mr Mokomoko and Ms Chivers were dragged into the dog laws controversy last year when the council claimed their pet Tango, which they insisted was an american staffordshire terrier, was a banned pitbull.

They were forced to remove Tango from the Gold Coast.

"He has spent 488 days in a Cabarita kennel at $17.50 a day," said Mr Mokomoko. "We want compensation."

Mr Mokomoko claimed the council's breeding identification standard was a 'fraudulent document'.

The checklist used by the council includes whether a dog has a head 'medium in length', upper teeth, wide open nostrils and medium-sized feet.

The council refused to comment yesterday. On Monday, councillors backflipped on dog laws, conceding there were flaws with identification and would invite up to 30 restricted dogs, previously exiled to other areas, back to the Coast. Crossfire,


tybrax.

[k9hullio_sam]

awww....i hate when people ban certain dog from cities....it is so stereotypical! at least they got their dog back.
SAM

[Cassiepeia]

I hope they get compensation. That'll leave the door open for other people to sue, the law will be changed or even better...seen as unsuitable for the dangerous dog problem and hopefully it will bully (no pun intended) QLD into scrapping the BSL.

Ok...I know I'm dreamin' but can't a girl do that once in a while?

Cass.

[Mutts4me]

I cannot take another sueing case!! Personnally though sueing these days is out of hand.

[Mom2Many]

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

I hope they get compensation. That'll leave the door open for other people to sue, the law will be changed or even better...seen as unsuitable for the dangerous dog problem and hopefully it will bully (no pun intended) QLD into scrapping the BSL.

Ok...I know I'm dreamin' but can't a girl do that once in a while?

Cass.

I'm with you on this one.

[KingdomOfFireflies]

Mmmm....speaking of dog-bias, I hate it that certain home insurance companies won't give people insurance or will charge extra if they own certain breeds like Pitt Bulls, Dobermans and Rotweilers. Sad, because these dogs are all really nice dogs....it's their human owners who should be banned, not the dogs

[Cassiepeia]

Originally Posted by Mutts4me

I cannot take another sueing case!! Personnally though sueing these days is out of hand.

There are situations where it is a good thing though, personally I think this is one of those situations. The government needs a slap to wake them up.

I do agree that people sue for no reason at all now days though. It's ridiculous how quick people are to submit to greed (because in most cases, that's all it is).

Cass.

[linnie]

Originally Posted by Mutts4me

I cannot take another sueing case!! Personnally though sueing these days is out of hand.

As one who has been involved with the terrible treatment of people with these breeds I fully agree with suing the rotton councils who in their ignorance are killing pets and breaking peoples hearts

[Calibur]

I agree that these people have a reason to sue, but I also know that especially here (maybe it's a california thing) people LOOK for things to sue others over. I worked at Hollywood video before and a man came in wanting to use the restroom. I told him he would have to wait a moment while I finished with my customer. He told me he sued blockbuster for not letting his daughter use their bathroom My goodness, I may be wrong but I did not think businesses even had to have public restrooms. Even if they did that just is a dumb reason to spend time and money sueing over!

Like I said though, in this case the person was treated wrong and maybe more cases like this will convince that one HUGE reason BSL against pit bulls wont work is because to most people ( i admit that I am included) LOTS of dogs that are not pitbulls, or that are mixes, look like pit bulls. Without any way of proving for sure what they are, its hard to hold up any law like that. Hopefully this suit will help people realize it!

[linnie]

Calibar I agree with you about people sueing for stupid things.
australia is getting just as stupid as America about sueing for anything.
It quite horrifying.

Makes you wonder about the Judges though doesnt it
Surely common sense would tll them to throw people like that man out of court and fine him for wasting precious time