Petition saves Hero the staffy from Cardinia Council taking action against him
After a “thorough investigation”, a staffy has been declared innocent after the killing of a dachshund in a Pakenham park, as more than 283,000 people signed an online petition calling for the accused dog, Hero, to be saved.
South East
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Hero the staffy has been declared innocent after the killing of a dachshund in a Pakenham park.
A Cardinia Council spokeswoman confirmed the council had completed a “thorough investigation” of the incident and would “take no further action as a result”.
Principal lawyer Michael Faltermaier, acting on behalf of Hero‘s owners Paki Harrison and his family, told Leader he was delighted with the result.
“Justice for Hero has been achieved. He is indeed a Hero and had to act to protect his owners,” Mr Faltermaier said.
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The Leader first revealed the tragic incident earlier this month when Pakenham woman Kashila Chintamunnee said her four-year-old dachshund Coco had been attacked and killed by Hero at a park on Windemere Blvd.
Mr Faltermaier said the “whole incident could have been avoided”.
Mr Harrison later defended his wife, Claudia, who was walking Hero, when the fight erupted, saying three off-lead dogs had approached the staffy.
CCTV footage also emerged showing the final stages of the dog attack, which sparked debate over what really happened and which dogs were to blame for the incident.
Mr Faltermaier said the “whole incident could have been avoided”.
“We commend the Cardinia Shire Council for their decision and the manner in which they conducted their investigation,” Mr Faltermaier said.
“We would also like to acknowledge and thank the hundreds of thousands of people from around the world that expressed their support and signed petitions and those who organised these campaigns.
“We note that the Save Hero petition has received over 283,000 signatures.”
He said in his years as a lawyer, he had never seen such a positive response to a case.
“Justice for Hero has been achieved. He is indeed a Hero and had to act to protect his owners.”
Mr Faltermaier said his clients were deeply saddened by the death of Coco as it did not need to happen.
“It is a timely reminder that our pets are like our children and we need to know where they are at all times.”
He said the outcome was giant leap forward for animals and animal welfare.
“Hero is safe, saved and acknowledged for his heroic efforts as he should be.”
Belinda Shipp, who started the Save Hero Facebook page, said the family’s lawyer told her the petition had saved Hero.
“This is why we started the page so everyone could show their love and support in one place, by posting pictures of their dogs and hash tagging #savehero,” Ms Shipp said.
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“We were inundated with pictures as it went worldwide. We wanted the power of social media to help Hero and his family and the photos not only spoke a thousand words, but it also showed how beautiful the staffy breed is.”