Family fearing threat to dogs
Note warns of poisoning
MY NEIGHBOURS BESIDE ME AND ACROSS THE ROAD SAID THEY DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I HAD DOGS DYANI PINNELL
AN animal attendant says she is terrified for her children and dogs after a neighbour left a threatening note in her letterbox.
Coomera resident Dyani Pinnell was shocked to read the handwritten note her young daughter found that said, “Keep ya mut shut or I’ll Bait it!”
The mother-of-two posted a photograph of the threat on a community Facebook page and pleaded with the author to contact her to help resolve the problem.
“Perhaps you could try talking to me in person, like an adult, before making such wild threats,” the post said.
“Also, please keep in mind that if this threat were carried out, it could have devastating consequences – I have a oneyear-old son who loves playing outside.
“As you can imagine, at that age, everything goes straight into the mouth. Do you really want that on your conscience?”
Ms Pinnell said she was on maternity leave and was at home every day with Marli, an 11-year-old staffy-cross and three-year-old great Danecross called Sarge.
She said her older dog Marli would sometimes bark at the neighbour’s staffy but only when she was outside to toilet.
“When I let her out for a wee in the morning and at night, both dogs bark, but I go straight out and bring her in because my baby is asleep. It wouldn’t even last 60 seconds,” she said.
Ms Pinnell called the RSPCA, the council and Queensland police, who suggested she talked to her neighbours to see if they heard her dog bark.
“My neighbours beside me and across the road said they didn’t even know I had dogs,” she said.
“My dogs are like my children to me, they are very much a part of my family.
“I watched Marli being born and rubbed her mum’s back, she was my first baby and has been by my side as my two human babies have grown.
“She’s my best friend and Sarge is my daughter’s best friend and protector. It would absolutely destroy our worlds if something ever happened to either of them.”
An RSPCA Queensland spokesman said it was an offence to feed an animal a harmful or poisonous substance with the intention of harming or injuring the animal.
“Penalties for baiting an animal has a maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment or $40,035,” he said.