Our sweet natured gentle girl, does not deserve to be muzzled for the rest of her life.

We are organising this petition to the City of Gold Coast Council to remove the Dangerous Dog Declaration they have issued against our dog Maddie, a beautiful 8 year old English Staffy and to assist in our appeal to QCAT. We believe Maddie was unfairly declared as dangerous after she was attacked by two Dachshunds on New Years Eve and acted in defense - a dogs natural instinct.

The Dangerous Dog Declaration against Maddie means for the rest of her life:

1. She must be muzzled whenever outside our unit  

2. A small enclosure must be established within our small unit to house Maddie when we are not present

3. She must never be off leash anywhere ever except in our small unit

4. She must always wear a bright red and yellow collar

Outline of the incident

It was New Years Eve (afternoon) and we crossed the road with our Neighbour, her daughter and Maddie.  Maddie was right by mine and neighbours side when she was attacked by two Dachshunds (they are only slightly smaller than Maddie). These two dogs came out of nowhere, aggressively running and barking at her. The dogs were on very long leads and not under control, tied meters away from their owners who were sitting at a table. During the attack, Maddie reacted in defense and bit one of the other dogs. She froze in fear. Maddie was cornered and had nowhere to go, left with no choice but to defend herself.

Maddie has always been well-behaved and never had any previous incidents or conflicts with other dogs. However, following the recent incident, Maddie was unjustly labeled as dangerous, while the dogs that instigated the attack are allowed to roam freely.

We provided the City of Gold Coast Council with our witness statements, statements regarding the dachshunds aggressive behaviour that entire afternoon so that they could understand that Maddie is a calm and beautiful natured dog who is no threat to anyone.

1. A highly regarded Expert Animal Behavioralist (Veterinarian) visited and spent time with Maddie, witnessed her interactions with other dogs and stated in his expert report that “Maddie is in no way a Dangerous Dog” and in the incident her action was activated by these Dachshunds.

2. Letters from Maddie’s Family Vet and Specialist Veterinarian who have cared for her the last 4 years

3. 40+ Letters and emails providing a reference of support for Maddie – people who meet and engage with her, many daily on her dog outings to the dog park.

The City of Gold Coast Council never once wanted to meet with Maddie to see her nature even though one inspector stated, “I am sure she is a good girl” in declaring her dangerous.

While we had the opportunity to have an internal review, this review is carried out by a Team Leader in the same team, and so we did not feel as though this was fairly reviewed.  

Please know that if Maddie was in anyway a danger to the Public, we would not be fighting this declaration and seeking your support to petition the Council.  

Thank you for signing our petition and our endeavors to have this Declaration overturned.