Couple fined after their 4 dogs escape and injure dog being walked by maid

Couple fined after their 4 dogs escape and injure dog being walked by maid The Labrador retriever suffered a deep, open wound measuring 9cm long and 7cm deep after the scuffle with two Rottweilers and two Cane Corsos. SINGAPORE: A Singaporean couple who owned four dogs between them were fined by a court on Tuesday (Aug 25) after their pets escaped from their house through a faulty gate and turned on a maid walking her employer's dog. The Labrador retriever suffered a deep, open wound. The dogs owned by the couple were Rottweilers and Cane Corsos, a type of mastiff. Both breeds are restricted by law in that a person can own only one of a restricted or "specified" breed unless given prior permission by the Director-General of Animal Health and Welfare. Merissa Leow Hwee Li, 51, was fined S$3,100 (US$2,440) while her husband Lionel Tay Wei Yuan, 52, was fined S$5,400. Leow also has to pay compensation of about S$4,000 to the victim for the vet and medical expenses incurred. Leow pleaded guilty to two charges under the Animals and Birds (Dog Licensing and Control) Rules for letting her dog be found at large and for owning a Rottweiler without a valid licence, with another seven charges taken into consideration. Her husband pleaded guilty to three charges for owning a dog without a valid licence, keeping more than three dogs at his home and keeping more than one dog of a restricted breed. Another two charges were considered in sentencing. THE CASE At about 9pm on Jan 9, 2024, the victim's maid was walking her Labrador retriever around an estate in Bedok. As they passed Sennett Road, the four dogs belonging to Leow and Tay escaped from their house without their owners and onto the road. The four dogs began scuffling with the victim's dog, prompting their respective owners to rush out to the scene. Together with their maids, the victim and Leow managed to separate the dogs. The victim's dog suffered a deep open wound 9cm long and 7cm deep on its neck, along with puncture wounds on its body. The victim developed pain in her feet and saw doctors for it. She spent around S$3,360 for her dog's veterinary treatments and about S$700 on her own medical bills. She lodged a complaint with the authorities. THE DOGS' ORIGINS Investigations revealed that the four dogs belonged to the couple. None of them had valid licences; one had no licence at all, another had had its licence cancelled and the licences of the remaining two dogs had expired. One of the dogs was registered under Tay's cousin, while another had been adopted from Tay's colleague. Leow had contacted the authorities around May 2020 about a third dog, saying the family could not get along with it and asking for its licence to be cancelled as they would not be keeping it. Although the licence was cancelled, Leow continued keeping this dog at her home. The couple did not have approval to keep more than three dogs. They also were not allowed to keep more than one restricted breed. The couple was represented by Mr Benjamin Gabriel Sew, who said his clients were not running an illegal dog farm or breeding operation, but were really "just true dog lovers". He said it was not a case of two people who were negligent or deliberately irresponsible in their pet ownership. He said one of the dogs was his cousin's dog, which the couple was helping to dog-sit on the day of the offence. The cousin has since died. He said Leow vacillated on whether she wanted to adopt one of the dogs but did so on "compassionate grounds". Mr Sew said his clients adopted another dog not out of "flagrant disregard for the law" but because they did not want dogs to be put down unnecessarily. On the day of the incident, the gate had malfunctioned, and they had recently serviced the gate so it was not through any negligence or "cavalier act" by the couple, said the lawyer. They paid the fines in full. For keeping more than one dog of a restricted breed, a person can be fined up to S$5,000. The penalty is the same for owning a dog without a valid licence, for letting a dog you own be found at large, and for keeping more than three dogs at a place that is not a dog farm or pet shop.