‘Anything but dangerous’: Owner loses long-running fight with council over dog

A Queensland dad has lost his long-running fight to save his pet dog being declared “dangerous” by his local council.

Rottweiler dog coco.

A Townsville dad has lost his long-running fight to save his pet dog being declared “dangerous” by the local council.

Mark Raymond Brain told the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal that Coco, a five-year-old female rottweiler was a gentle and docile family dog who “is anything but dangerous”.

He gave the tribunal photographs showing Coco sitting calmly on the floor next to Mr Brain’s baby daughter, amongst others.

But in a decision delivered on January 9, QCAT member Michael Howe ruled that he must confirm the Townsville City Council’s ruling that Coco was a dangerous dog.

“I must come to the same conclusion because it is required by the legislation. I have no discretion to overturn the decision below,” Mr Howe said of the Townsville City Council dangerous dog declaration.

Mark Brain with Coco.

The Council concluded that on August 20, 2022 that Coco had attacked a female Greyhound named Chatz, who lived in the same street and was on a leash, in an unprovoked attack and that Chatz suffered puncture wounds to her back, rear and side.

Coco got out of her yard when a contractor opened the gate and walked down the street to where Chatz’s owner, a Ms Hunter, was walking Chatz on a lead from her car parked on the street to her home.

“She saw Coco coming towards them. Coco lunged at Chatz and bit her on the back,” Ms Hunter told QCAT in her statement of evidence.

“Ms Hunter fell over trying to kick out at Coco. She crawled to her car with Chatz, opened the tailgate and got in with her dog. Coco tried to bite Chatz throughout. Ms Hunter managed to close the tailgate,” the decision states.

Mark Raymond Brain and rottweiler Coco.

“Coco’s owner by then had arrived and tried to control Coco but Coco did not have a collar on, so that was difficult. Ms Hunter did not see Coco taken away, but after Coco had gone she came out of the vehicle with Chatz and saw her dog had been bitten on the back,” the decision states.

Ms Hunter took Chatz to a vet the next day and she was diagnosed with puncture wounds on her back.

Mr Brain paid for the vet treatment.

The Council declared Coco a dangerous dog on 23 February 2023, and Mr Brain fought the ruling by lodging and internal appeal of the decision by council, which failed.

Mr Brain argued in the tribunal that the dog fight occurred on 20 August 2022 but the

complaint by Ms Hunter was not made until 18 January 2023, nearly five months later.

Ms Hunter did not give evidence in person, but Mr Brain told the tribunal that he would have liked to ask her why she delayed so long.

Rottweiler dog coco. Picture: Supplied

But Mr Howe found that there was no delay in Ms Hunter bringing the complaint to the Council. Any delay occurred with the Council,

Mr Brain also unsuccessfully submitted the dog fight was not serious, and “it takes two to Tango”.

He submitted that if Coco is declared dangerous he and his partner will not be keeping the dog.

No suitable arrangements could be made to satisfy the conditions required for owners to keep a declared dangerous dog. Coco would have to be put down, Mr Brain told the tribunal.

Dangerous dogs must be kept behind a suitable fence, which the council will check that it complies, and a declared dog sign must be placed and maintained near each entrance to the home.

Originally published as ‘Anything but dangerous’: Owner loses long-running fight with council over dog