Ozzy the dog.
OZZY the Portland dog of questionable breeding remains on death row with a new deadline of this morning.
Former owner Leah Rodgers may have to agree the dog is a pit bull in a last-ditch effort to save her pooch.
That may give her the opportunity to get her dog back but would mean that Ozzy has to be caged and muzzled for the rest of its life.
Ms Rodgers and her family struck a hurdle late last week in obtaining a certificate of identification from a Warrnambool veterinarian.
The only piece of paperwork missing to prove her dog is not a pit bull terrier is a certificate of identification signed by a vet, but the Warrnambool vet would not sign the document.
Ms Rodgers’ mother Ruth Jacobsen said even though Ozzy was microchipped and registered as a Staffordshire terrier in November 2008, the same vet clinic would not sign a certificate of identification.
That means that Ozzy’s breeding cannot be established and, under state government legislation, he could be put down because he is suspected of being an illegal pit bull terrier.
Ms Jacobsen said her daughter faced a tough choice — either let the dog be put down or agree he could be a pit bull terrier and take him home to live in a cage for the rest of his life. “This is just craziness,” she said.
“The vet has seen and microchipped the dog and now will not sign the piece of paper to prove he is a Staffordshire terrier. I don’t know what Leah is going to do but I expect she’ll say he could be a pit bull to save his life.”
Ms Jacobsen said Glenelg Shire had set a deadline of today to determine the matter.
“It would be best if everyone could agree to disagree, but if Ozzy is listed as a pit bull he’s listed as a pit bull for life and even if a vet inspected him and said he was a staffy it doesn’t matter,” she said.
“We’re just trying to get the dog home and save him from being put down,” she said.
Ms Rodgers said mid-last week that after a story appeared in Monday’s edition of The Standard, the prospect of Ozzy being put down was a hot topic in Portland and on Facebook.
She said her dog had got out a couple of times but he had never been in trouble.
She then surrendered the unregistered dog to the Portland pound, the dog was then deemed to be a pit pull terrier and was to be put down on Monday last week.