They phoned Moira Shire to see if they had been seen. They phoned the council another four times before they were notified at 11am the following day that Bear the Husky was in the pound.
The family was also advised that Brax the Border Collie had been shot. The ranger who impounded him claimed the reasoning for shooting Brax was that he was seizuring, due to a snake bite (the standard treatment for ‘snakebite’ at Moira is evidently a bullet).
Brax’s owners were obviously devastated at this news, but asked if they could take the body of this much loved pet for a proper burial. They were advised by Moira Shire that this wasn’t possible because he had already been disposed of at the the local tip.
Brax’s family refused to leave without his body. Brax was retrieved and his family took him to their vets
His microchip was active. There was no medical evidence of snake bite.
The family contacted their solicitor and the RSPCA. Armed with the knowledge that council was required to contact an owner of a microchipped dog before proceeding with any ‘medical treatment’, the Council now maintains that Brax was attacking other animals at the time he was shot.
Brax’s owners have lodged a ‘Freedom of Information’ (FOI) application for the address of where he was supposedly attacking other animals. This has been denied.
The ranger who impounded Brax is still on duty.
Each year Moira Council charges pet owners $28.50 to register their dogs. Council’s 2011 Animal Management Plan shows 5,004 registered dogs, making the department a whopping $140,000+ pa.
Just 294 dogs were impounded for the year (effectively giving the council $485 to spend on each lost dog)
120 were returned to their owners
174 were killed
0 were rehomed. Making their kill rate for unclaimed dogs 100%.
If a bullet runs at around $1.00 – council spent just $174 on ‘saving’ dogs for the year. And by ‘saving’, I mean shooting them and dumping them at the rubbish tip.
See also; A murder in Moira – Bear and Kooda
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