Gold Coast Council dog fines: Man lashes out over $806 penalty

A Gold Coast man has issued a warning to dog owners after finding himself hundreds of dollars out of pocket after taking his furry friend to the beach.

A dog owner has been rinsed for more than $800 after taking his pooch off its lead to wash it at a Gold Coast beach shower.

In a post on social media, the man said he copped the fine from a council officer while washing his dog at a shower fronting Wagawn St in Currumbin on Wednesday.

“I just got fined for taking my dog’s lead off and washing him at the shower,” he wrote.

“I even showed the enforcement officer the lead in my car that I had just removed and he wasn’t interested.”

The man accused council of being “revenue obsessed” and said he was sharing his story as a warning to others.

“I spent 15 minutes politely providing him with everything he asked including my dog’s registration, microchip number, driver’s licence, address, rego but still couldn’t convince him to give me a warning considering that I only took the lead off to wash him.”

The man is one of 65 dog owners on the Gold Coast fined so far this year for the offence of failing to keep their pet under effective control.

Recent state government changes saw the fine for the offence rise on July 31 from $645 to $806.

Retiree John who said he was fined $806 for walking his dog from his van to kayak at Budds Beach without putting it on a lead. Picture: A Current Affair.

Also copping the fine was a Surfers Paradise retiree who told A Current Affair earlier this month that he was pinged while walking his dog from his van to a kayak on the water at Budds Beach.

“I thought that it was very unfair as I was only travelling from my van to the water,” he said.

The crackdown comes after 700 attacks by dogs on people and other pets were reported on the Gold Coast last year.

A Gold Coast City Council spokesperson said there could be no exceptions to the rule that dogs could only be unshackled in designated off-leash areas.

“These laws are in place to ensure the safety of all members of the public and their pets,” the spokesperson said.

“All dogs must be on a leash at all times in all public places, except if in a ‘designated off leash’ area.

“The City has over 150 designated dog off-leash areas throughout the city. These areas are clearly signed to reflect as an off-leash area.”

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