Caulfield South family to fight Glen Eira Council over off-leash greyhound fines
A Caulfield South family wants harsh compulsory leash laws for “docile and gentle” pet greyhounds to be scrapped after being fined for letting therapy dog Willow run free. And hundreds of people — and the RSPCA — agree.
Inner South
Don't miss out on the headlines from Inner South . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A beloved rescue pet and Caulfield Hospital therapy dog has been “unfairly targeted” by strict greyhound leash laws, her owners say.
Glen Eira Council has slapped Lior Mileikowski with two fines totalling $500 for letting four-year-old Willow roam free at Princes Park in Caulfield South, a designated off-leash park.
Under state laws — enforced by local councils — greyhounds must be on a leash when in public places, including off-leash areas.
But Ms Mileikowski said the law was too harsh on “gentle and docile” greyhounds like Willow, who has been assessed by the Delta Society as suitable to be a therapy dog.
She is leading the charge for the government to introduce Willow’s Law, giving greyhounds more freedom subject to a behavioural assessment process and recognised them as “as welcome as all other dogs in off-leash areas”.
The Mileikowski family will fight the fines in court later this month and a GoFundMe page set up to pay for legal costs raised more than $1500 in three days.
“(Willow) lives at home with two other dogs, a cat and chickens and has no racing instinct at all,” Mr Mileikowski said.
“She sits for treats and we take her to the park everyday with other dogs and there’s never been an incident.
“Willow’s no more of a risk than any other off-leash dog at the park — she mostly just lays down beside us while the other dogs run around.”
Ms Mileikowski said as a therapy dog on the psychiatric and geriatric wards, Willow would calmly sit beside patients while they gave her pats and treats.
“Each greyhound is so individual it’s unfair to put them all in the same basket and that’s what this law does,” she said.
“Owners of other breeds are deemed to be responsible enough to decide if their dog can be let off the leash, we just want owners of greyhounds to be given the same level of trust.”
RSPCA Victoria chief executive Liz Walker said dogs should be assessed on an individual basis and not subject to breed-specific legislation.
“Dog attacks can occur for a variety of reasons, and breed alone is not a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour,” she said.
“Each individual dog should be assessed based on their behaviour.’
MORE:
NO CHANGE ROOM FORCES GIRLS TO CHANGE IN CARS, TOILETS
THOUSANDS OF GLEN EIRA HOMES TO BE CUT OFF FROM INTERNET
NEW RATEPAYERS’ GROUP TO TACKLE ‘LUDICROUS’ COUNCIL SPENDING
“Any dog of any size, breed or mix of breeds has the potential to be aggressive in some circumstances — when injured, ill or very scared. Education plays a key role in the effective management of dogs in the community.’’
A petition calling on the council to provide off-leash areas for pet greyhounds garnered more than 600 signatures.
Glen Eira’s planning and place director Ron Torres said while the council had the ability to designate an off-leash area for greyhounds, it must be fully fenced and other breeds prohibited from being there at the same time.
Glen Eira currently only has one fenced dog park, Pawfield Park, on the western side of Caulfield Racecourse.
Mr Torres said the council had recently reviewed its off-leash areas and a report would be considered at a council meeting later this year.
The report will respond to community feedback regarding exercising greyhounds in the municipality, he said.
Mr Torres said council officers regularly patrolled dog parks to enforce leash laws.
The State Government has been contacted for comment.