Northcliffe man denied approval to keep more than two Rottweilers on his property

An anonymous complaint has resulted in a Northcliffe man having to find alternative living arrangements for three of his five dogs. The Shire of Manjimup received a complaint on May 9 reporting five Rottweilers being kept at a Northcliffe property, located less than 200m from the local high school. The complaint outlined a concern for public safety from the then unregistered, unsterilised dogs. Clayton Pukallus was issued a written warning on May 10 for keeping more than two dogs — the prescribed maximum number on within gazetted townsite as per the Shire of Manjimup Dog Local Laws 2004 — at Lot 98, 5 Zamia Street, and was directed to reduce the number to two within seven days. On May 11, Mr Pukallus registered three of the dogs — one five-year-old and two two-year-old Rottweilers — and applied to keep the register trio. Two of the dogs were immediately rehomed. In the application, Mr Pukallus said it was his preference to keep three of the dogs, particularly as the third dog was his daughter’s and had helped his daughter with her various health issues, including juvenile arthritis. He also said there was a potential the dog would no longer be homed at the property — which is currently owned by his mother, Mrs Constance Telfer — should his daughter move out, which was likely in the short term. However, the Shire council rejected the application as the application did not meet any of the exception requirements. In the minutes from the July 6 council meeting a Shire officer said “the applicant’s reasons for wanting to keep more than two dogs are not consistent with Shire of Manjimup Policy 5.2.5 Applications to Keep Additional Dogs or Cats”. The Shire officer noted “an undesirable precedent” would be set should the council approve the application. Temporary approval for the keeping of three dogs for a 12-month period to allow for the relocation of the third dog was approved. During the council meeting, Susan Dawson Vidovich said she agreed the application should be denied but commended the Shire officers for their flexibility in allowing a 12-month gap for rehoming as it allowed Mr Pukallus a reasonable amount of time to make the changes.