By Victoria Stone-Meadows
TWENTY-SIX of the 29 dogs that were seized from a property in Blind Bight on Tuesday 26 July have found new homes or are in loving foster families.
The dogs were seized from the property after an animal rights group Oscar’s Law exposed the conditions the dogs were kept in.
City of Casey Council prosecuted the owner of the property, Troy Scoble, for keeping excess animals on his property in June this year.
Twenty-nine of the 33 dogs were removed from the property under the Domestic Animals Act in July, and since then almost all the dogs have found new loving homes.
Sadly, two of the dogs removed from the property had to be euthanised due to extreme behavioural issues and one has been sent to NSW for behavioural rehabilitation.
Anna Balakas from Team Tigger Inc. was one of the people who were instrumental in finding new homes for the dogs by liaising with other animal support groups and rescue shelters.
“One of the dogs from Blind Bight was one of our own called Bruce,” Ms Balakas said.
“We fought hard to get him back when we found out he was on that property.”
Ms Balakas said Team Tigger Inc. were recommended to house Bruce at the Blind Bight property through another agency.
“He was the first dog released from Blind Bight, and we sought legal advice and had every intention to get him back as soon as we found him in that predicament, we wouldn’t walk away from a fight.”
Since getting Bruce back, Ms Balakas said she and other members of Team Tigger Inc. had made sure every dog that came off that property had found their way into a safe household.
Ms Balakas said the condition and health of many of the dogs that came from the Blind Bight property left a lot to be desired.
“He was underweight, had a skin allergy that had gone untreated,” Ms Balakas said.
“A lot of them were in that condition; a lot of the dogs had skin allergies, stuffed paws from the hard surface, and some had mast cell tumour cancer.”
City of Casey Mayor Sam Aziz said he was proud of the way council officers and employees had helped to resolve the animal welfare issues surrounding this case.
“This was one of the largest animal welfare cases council has been involved in, and the first time we were actively involved in co-ordinating dogs into new homes, rescue or foster care,” he said.
“Council is not only committed to delivering for our residents, but we’re also dedicated to ensuring our four-legged friends are cared for and safe.”
Ms Balakas said the change she had seen in the dogs she had helped re-home after coming from the Blind Bight property had been extraordinary.
“It’s really good to see the dogs becoming normal dogs again,” she said.
“We are going to give it a good go and make sure they have a good future; we won’t walk away from these dogs.”
