AVA may take rottweilers' owner to court
She could be fined up to $50k as they were out unleashed and
unmuzzled
By Lim Wei Chean
INSPECTION: AVA officers visited rottweiler owner Madam Kaur's
Lengkong Tiga home yesterday. The agency said it had completed
investigations on last month's attack. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH
SIM
AND now there are three. Two of the five Kembangan rottweilers are
cooling their paws in a pet hotel.
Their owner sent them there yesterday to comply with an order from
the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).
The AVA wants Madam Satpal Kaur to give up two of her five dogs.
The general rule is that no more than three dogs are allowed on a
private property.
But her troubles with the AVA are far from over, in the wake of an
incident on Nov 26 in which the five large-breed dogs dashed out
and attacked a small-breed Jack Russell terrier being walked by its
owner.
Subsequent media reports indicated that the dogs had bitten a
person earlier.
Now, Madam Kaur will not only have to find new owners for two of
her dogs - or risk their having to be put to sleep - but she could
also face a fine of up to $50,000 for allowing all five dogs out
unleashed and without muzzles on Nov 26.
VIDEO
Rottweiler attack: AVA to prosecute owner
(2:47)
A neighbour's warning and two attacks
Aug 17: Semi-retired businessman Foo Seck Siong's letter appeared
in The Straits Times Forum page:
He said he saw an 'attack' by the five rottweilers on one of the
owner's workers a few days earlier. The man did not seem to be
hurt.
... more
Said AVA's head of animal welfare and control Madhavan Kannan
yesterday: 'Investigations on that case have been concluded.'
It is now considering taking Madam Kaur, an information technology
business owner, to court. Large dogs like rottweilers must be
leashed as well as muzzled in public places. The fine is $5,000 per
dog, per offence - that is, $5,000 for every dog unleashed and
$5,000 for every dog unmuzzled.
The issue of the five rottweilers was first aired in August when
Madam Kaur's immediate neighbour, semi-retired businessman Foo Seck
Siong, 66, wrote to The Straits Times.
He said he had witnessed an 'attack' by the dogs, and asked why
five dogs were permitted in her house.
He called them 'a threat to the people in the neighbourhood' as
they were often allowed to wander around outside without
supervision.
Madam Kaur, 51, and her sons denied Mr Foo's accusation. The
'playful puppies' had never attacked anyone, they claimed. Neither
were the dogs allowed to roam freely around the area, in Lengkong
Tiga.
As there were no prior reported incidents involving the 2
1/2-year-old mother dog and her four 1 1/2-year-old puppies, AVA
did not follow up on Mr Foo's complaints.
Then came the Nov 26 attack on Mambo, a five-year-old
terrier.
It suffered eight puncture wounds while its owner, advertising
agency owner David Ow, 59, sustained knee injuries trying to
protect his dog.
Following that attack, it was reported on Sunday that a friend of
Madam Kaur's youngest son had been bitten by the dogs. The friend
required 10 stitches.
Mr Kannan said yesterday that AVA will continue to monitor the
situation, and if the owner still cannot control her remaining
three dogs, more may have to go.
Neighbours like Mr Foo are cheered by the news.
He said the racket the dogs made have caused his wife and him
sleepless nights.
Another neighbour, housewife C. Ong, 60, said that on at least five
occasions, she had seen the dogs wandering outside - unmuzzled and
unleashed.
When asked about her plans for the dogs, Madam Kaur seemed
combative.
She said: 'All the press I've had so far is negative. I don't have
to account to anyone but AVA.'
Straits Times reader Jagindar Singh, 67, had called in earlier this
week with the intention of adopting two of the dogs. But when the
retiree broached it to his family, they were against the
idea.
He said they told him: 'They bite other dogs and humans. So
no.'
[email protected]
See also AVA TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST ROTTWEILERS' OWNER, FORUM
owner still so unrepentent 