Ruff treatment? Dog act lands Cavoodle owner in Southport Magistrates Court

Is this the most Gold Coast story ever? A Cavoodle owner found himself in court after he was slapped with a ‘totally unreasonable’ fine. WHAT HAPPENED

A pet owner is feeling pawsitively “fantastic” after he successfully appealed a fine for having his dog off-leash.

A magistrate waived Alberto Guidotti’s $140 fine due to a technicality after a hearing in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Mr Guidotti said his eight-year-old Cavoodle Archie escaped from a fenced area in Bilinga in September last year.

“Someone has opened the gate and Archie has run out about 20 metres, we called him straight back and I got fined $140 for it,” he said.

The dog was observed unaccompanied and off-leash at Bilinga Beach foreshore during a routine patrol by Gold Coast City Council officers, who issued a fine to Mr Guidotti.

Dog owners are required by law to have their dog on leash at all times in public.

“I said I’d see them in court and here we are,” Archie’s owner said outside court.

“It was two hours worth of mumbo jumbo.”

Mr Guidotti said he was happy with the outcome after his ruff treatment.

“Archie doesn’t know what’s going on though,” he said.

“I’d love to know how much it cost Gold Coast City Council - it’s totally unreasonable.”

A council spokeswoman said the magistrate identified a technical issue with the wording of the complaint issued to Mr Guidotti.

“(The magistrate) refused the request by the city’s external legal counsel to amend the complaint,” she said.

“Council will not incur any legal fees in relation to this matter.”

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