Owner: ‘I’m taking my bloody dogs’
A pet owner who took exception to his dogs being impounded pushed a council worker out of the way in order to set them free.
On October 3 last year, at 3.10pm, the Stratford District Council (SDC) received a phone call about Nathan Stanley Tobeck’s two dogs, which were found wandering the street.
The summary of facts, outlined in the Ha¯wera District Court yesterday, explained how Tobeck was the registered owner of a female black huntaway named Sasha and a male black bearded collie called Duke.
An animal control officer was dispatched to respond to the complaint and when he got to the area, he recognised the dogs as Sasha and Duke.
The council worker had picked the dogs up twice before after they were found wandering in the street.
On the previous occasions, the dogs were impounded and Tobeck had to pay infringement fees to get them out.
The animal control officer put the dogs into the back of the ute and then travelled to the pound. Within minutes of his arrival, Tobeck showed up and asked if his two dogs were in the back of the ute.
The dog control officer explained he had picked the canines up for wandering, which was an offence under the Dog Control Act. This meant the dogs could not simply be released back into Tobeck’s care, the summary of facts said.
‘‘The defendant then approached the back of the complainant’s ute and said ‘I’m taking my bloody dogs’ and proceeded to push the complainant out of the way, open the back of the ute and release both dogs from the cages they were in.’’
The altercation was caught on security camera. Tobeck then put his dogs into the back of his vehicle and drove off.
The defendant previously pleaded guilty to two charges of releasing a dog in custody along with wilfully obstructing a dog control officer.
Judge Lynne Harrison convicted Tobeck, who was not present for the hearing, and ordered him to pay a $500 fine, plus a total of $390 in court costs.