Fraser Coast council backs down in TikTok dogfight

A TikTok user who made a viral post about receiving a council fine over his fence after his dogs escaped has given an update on the non-compliance action.

A Tiktok user by the name of The Angry Mechanic has gone viral with his videos about a dispute with council over his front fence.

A TikTok user who became embroiled in a battle with the Fraser Coast council over the height of his fence after his dogs escaped has had the last laugh.

The man, known only as the Angry Mechanic, shared a series of videos that went viral on the social media platform, garnering hundreds of thousands of views after he shared his story.

He said the situation began when his German shepherds repeatedly escaped his Hervey Bay home.

After setting up cameras to investigate, he realised the dogs had figured out they could push on the electric gate to trigger a safety mechanism to open the gates.

Fraser Coast Regional Council issued a fine and he discussed it with compliance officers, he said.

@theangrymechanic888 #viral #how #wtf #why #frasercoast #herveybay #germanshepherd #dogsoftiktok #karen #backfire #foryou #foryourpage #funny #council ♬ original sound - The Angry Mechanic 🛠

Two and a half months later, after he secured the fence, another fine arrived, this time for $718.

He said it was because the dogs could still “protrude” from the fence and that council demanded he added another two feet to the height of the fence.

But this week, he said a council officer had called him to withdraw the fine, telling him that instead of increasing the height of his fence, he would only be required to place chicken wire over the gaps to ensure the dogs could not protrude.

The Angry Mechanic has given an update about his dog fence fine.

This week, he shared a new video, captioned with: “We won”.

“So for everybody who’s been following, it’s over,” he said.

“The council rang me today and they’ve withdrawn the fine, withdrawn the non-compliance.”

The man then turns to one of his dogs and says “guess what? That means you don’t have to live in a prison”.

He said he wanted to thank everyone who helped the post go viral.

The initial story sparked controversy when it was revealed council chief executive Ken Diehm’s wife Tania had an unregistered dog that had been found wandering in 2018.

A council spokesman confirmed a penalty infringement for non-compliance with a notice, which was issued in November 2022, had been waived.

“Following discussions with the dog owner on actions to improve the fencing, council agreed to waive the fine,” the spokesman said.

“Council would rather see the funds put into works that will ensure the enclosure is effective, keeping the dogs contained, to remove further opportunity for them to wander.

“A second compliance notice, which was issued in January following the dogs being involved in an attack on another dog, remains in force.”

Originally published as Fraser Coast council backs down in TikTok dogfight