Howl of anguish over fine

IT'S not rocket science, but pensioner Rex Tyson learnt an expensive lesson yesterday.

In having his day in court to fight city hall over a fine for walking his dog – a blue heeler named Rocket – without a lead on a beach, Mr Tyson ended up being slugged an extra $1500 in fees on top of the $121 fine he was trying to avoid.

Tyson, 54, took the Gold Coast City Council on in the Southport Magistrates Court after he objected to being fined for not having Rocket on a lead on a beach near Cronulla Ave at Mermaid Beach on April 17 last year.

He argued he had his 10year-old dog under control even though the lead he was carrying was not connected to Rocket's collar.

But the court did not agree and he was slugged with the $121 fine plus $1596 in court fees and the council’s legal costs.

The loss has left Mr Tyson wondering how he is going to pay the bill for what he described outside of court as a “money grabbing” exercise.

“I think it’s about grabbing money from people that are walking a dog on the beach,” he said.

Mr Tyson told the court Rocket was walking peacefully beside him and not bothering anybody when council officers pounced.

The court heard Mr Tyson complied with directions from the council officers to clip the lead he was carrying onto Rocket’s collar and was polite while the fine was issued.

Outside court, Mr Tyson said many people at Mermaid Beach felt targeted by council officers appearing when they were walking their dogs.

“They fined everyone on the beach that day,” he said.

Mr Tyson said he had been walking Rocket on the beach ever since he moved to the area and had never been fined previously.

“The dog was under control,” he said.

Mr Tyson said he did not understand why a trained dog was considered out of control if it was not on a leash.

The Gold Coast has three off-leash beaches for dog owners to use and last year plans to include a fourth were rejected.

Magistrate Mark Howden said he found Mr Tyson guilty because the local law specified that a dog must be on a lead unless inside a designated area.

“It’s not a particularly serious example of breaking the law,” he said. “Nonetheless you should have had a leash on the dog which you were walking.”

Mr Howden said because the matter had progressed to a hearing, he would have to award $1500 in legal costs for the council.

He also said Mr Tyson must pay a $96 filing fee on top of the $121 fine.

No conviction was recorded.