HELP SAVE SARGE
We are in a fight to save our beautiful family dog Sarge from being killed by Sunshine Coast Regional Council in Queensland.
Sarge has been a part of my family for 8 years now and it’s been nothing but pure love since I picked him up at 8 weeks old. Sarge had a very normal life interacting with all kinds of dogs at off leash beaches and off leash parks where he had no issues at all. He has lived happily with babies, children, a rabbit, cats, guinea pigs and other dogs. He went to puppy pre school and passed everything and was always well behaved.
How you Can Help Save Sarge:
1. PLEASE donate what you can! Every dollar counts - supreme courts are not cheap and this is how councils win as families have to give up the fight as they simply can’t afford it. We need over $30,000 to try save our dog
2. PLEASE share this story with anyone and everyone you can!
Account details are -
Kara Chaplin
BSB- 064449
ACN- 10308933
PLEASE REFERENCE WITH SARGE
PLEASE HELP US SAVE OUR SARGEY BOY
The money being raised is to help cover the huge legal costs that go with trying to save your dog. We have already spent over $30,000 and with the prospects of taking this to the Supreme Courts we need to be prepared for what’s ahead.
Sarge needs the communities help please
Unfortunately at 6 years old Sarge got declared as dangerous dog in 2016 after a small dog was killed. There was no visible injuries to the small dog and we were all incredibly devastated as we knew this is not what Sarge had intended to happen, he was just trying to help his pack member who he thought was in trouble. This declaration was imposed by Noosa Council with no objection from me as his owner. There were no further incidents or problems at all when we lived in the Noosa council area.
We moved to Peregian Springs in January of 2018 and there was an incident where another person who was not Sarges owner took him out for a run while riding a bike. I would never have given permission to take Sarge for a run on a bike and especially without a muzzle. Another dog and Sarge started barking at each other and the person running fell off the bike as Sarge ran in front of the wheel. He lost control of Sarge when he fell by dropping the lead. There was never any contact (or injury) with this other large dog and Sarge. I was not aware of this incident until the council came around. They spoke to both parties and had agreed there was no injuries sustained and issued the person involved with a $900 fine for not having the muzzle on.
On the 28th of March 2019 our garage door got jammed by a scooter after the children had returned inside at dusk. As they came inside they pushed the button to close the garage door as they had done so many times before. I locked the front screen door and the front door and it was at this point I thought out house was securely shut up. I put my 6 month old baby to bed at 7pm and walked past my daughter’s room to see Sarge asleep on her bed. It took 40 mins to put my son to bed as he was sick with bronchitis. At 7:40 I heard a scream so I ran to my daughters room and couldn’t see Sarge. I went out the front unlocking the front door and security screen door. I found Sarge and a much larger dog engaged in a fight. It was hard to get two large dogs apart so I grabbed the hose and hosed them which caused them to seperate. I ran inside to get my phone as the street light out the front was blown and wanted to check if the other dog was ok. I noticed a small cut on her cheek and insisted the owner take her to the vet at my cost. The whole time the male owner was abusing me telling me he would have our dog killed and we would never see it again amongst other stuff, his wife and other neighbours asked him to calm down. I was crying and talking to the female owner and I remember asking a neighbour how has he gotten out, to which she said “OMG Kara look at the garage.” I looked up to see the garage open about knee high. The owners of the other dog later told me that Sarge was at the garage door when they walked passed.
I told the female owner to take their dog to any vet and let me know where and I will cover the vet bill. They went to a vet at 8pm and had treatment which I paid for no questions asked. The vet bill cost $881.38.
The very next morning I had my mother bring me down a brand new self closing, self locking baby gate to put across the door way from the garage to the house to prevent anything like that happening again. I had a padlock and locked our side gate to prevent anyone ever opening that as well. I checked in with the owners several times to make sure they were all ok and make sure their dog was ok.
Council came and seized Sarge on the 4th of April 2019 even after seeing the additional measures I had implemented to prevent Sarge from escaping again. Shortly after being seized council issued a destruction order on Sarge and also fined me $3,829.40 for Sarge being able to escape.
I have done everything I possibly could do to compensate for the incident and ensure nothing like this can ever happen again. I paid the vet bill, I made changes to my rental property, added extra doors and gates everywhere to prevent Sarge from ever escaping again. Now I have moved shires - back to Noosa, moved house, which is on land 32 acres out of town. I have had a 32sq meter 6ft high hardwood enclosure built that meets all the dangerous dog requirements. I contacted Noosa council of my own accord to pre inspect the enclosure and they said it’s one of the best they have seen in Noosa shire as far as Dangerous Dog enclosures go.
In addition, I have now erected 7 foot high fencing around the whole house and enclosure so now in effect Sarge has his enclosure that was inspected by Noosa council and a second barrier. He won’t escape again. He can’t. Also both the enclosure and the 7 foot high fencing have self closing gates, so they can’t be left open.
I have fought this thru QCAT twice now with the assistance of a lawyer and junior barrister. I have proactively worked with council to show I have a firmer understanding of the finer rules of owning a DD. I have always paid registration on time and I never had any issues on my yearly inspections for our enclosure. Sarge has now been in the pound for 15 months.
I would like to acknowledge some the staff at the pound where Sarge is being kept. They have been so lovely, very kind, very caring and have built a beautiful bond with my boy. He has been well looked after and cared for. I have appreciated my visits but it’s hurt my 4.5 year old a lot to not be able to hold her dog and interact with him.
When you see your dog asleep on a bed and think your house is all locked and secure at 7pmat night, you don’t expect or think anything else would happen. We had no reason to believe the garage hadn’t shut properly.
To make sure I try every avenue to save our boy I have now enlisted further legal help which we need assistance in funding in a bid to save Sarge from being put down.
Sarge is not just a dog, he is our family member and he is loved dearly. We understand the importance of community safety. We have everything put in place to comply with all rules of owning a dangerous dog. Surely the destruction of this beautiful boy is not the last resort.
Thank you so much everyone. If we could share this post that would be amazing and so greatly appreciated. Thank you for the kind words, thank you for the donations, thank you for the support and thank you for loving our boy as much as we love him.
Euthanasia should be the absolute late point of call.
