Kerser was seized by Monash council officers in December after being identified as an unregistered American pitbull, a breed banned under dangerous dog laws, and consequently scheduled for destruction.

The dog's owner, Jade Applebee, challenged the council's decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in February and March. The deputy president of the tribunal then examined Kerser and upheld the council's decision.

Refusing to give up on her dog – which she says was sold to her as an American Staffordshire terrier – Ms Applebee went to the Supreme Court to halt the execution, but the judge there upheld the tribunal's decision in favour of the council.

In June, the council gave Kerser a last-minute reprieve when Ms Applebee indicated that she would take the dog's case to the Court of Appeal.

In a judgment released on Friday morning, Justice Michael Croucher of the Court of Appeal overturned the decision by Supreme Court judge Rita Zammit not to allow Ms Applebee to appeal the tribunal's original finding.

The appeals court judge said Justice Zammit erred in saying there were no grounds for appeal because the deputy president of the tribunal had decided Kerser was an American pitbull on the basis of "an overall impression".

Under Victorian legislation, dogs must be judged on a number of criteria collectively called the "standard", including muzzle, head profile, skull, lips, teeth, nose, eyes, ears, neck, forequarters, body (forechest, back and loin), hindquarters, feet, tail, coat, colours, and height and weight.

"There is a real or significant argument that an 'overall impression' of compliance with the standard is something short of an opinion based on an assessment of the criteria in the standard," Justice Croucher said.

"Secondly, there is a real or significant argument that the deputy president erred by forming an 'overall impression' based on her own observation of the dog and then going on to consider the criteria in the standard to test whether her overall impression was correct."

Justice Croucher also said the tribunal should have taken into account the conflicting measurements – partly used to determine Kerser's breed – of the dog taken by a council officer and a dog breed judge.

On the Free Kerser Facebook page, Ms Applebee alerted her supporters on Friday morning to the decision, saying: "Leave to appeal has been granted. We come back on 11th october for the appeal. Thank you for your love, support and well wishes. I wouldn't have been able to get this far without you guys."