Latest news with #GlennTong
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Aussie's five-year legal battle with council over pet dogs: 'Spent over $100k'
A dog owner accused of letting his two Jack Russells bark all day and night has vowed to fight his local council, despite claiming he's already shelled out over $100,000 on the gruelling five-year legal saga. Glenn Tong first got wind that his neighbours in an apartment block in Melbourne's eastern suburbs were reportedly unhappy with his pets Marco and Mia in 2017. The long-time Hawthorn resident told Yahoo News he started receiving letters from Boroondara Council alleging the dogs were creating a nuisance and waking others up at 2am. 'There were three or four of these letters, and every single time I wrote back 'Well, it's not my dogs',' he said. 'They sleep with us under the doona in bed so if the dogs bark, my wife and I would wake up straight away, and we don't like waking up at 2am. They didn't listen.' In October, 2020 Tong copped two charges from the council — one for each Marco and Mia — alleging he was allowing them to bark excessively, particularly early in the morning and late in the evening. 'This is a lot rubbish. It's complete nonsense,' the biotech expert reportedly told Brett Melke, who specialises in canine law, when he called for help. 🏍️ Woman's surprise passenger on Aussie road prompts $376 fine 🚐 Aussie council makes major caravan rule change to tackle housing crisis 🪴 Locals fume as 22-year-old roundabout garden destroyed by council After four years, Tong finally appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in February, 2024 with Melke and his criminal barrister Tass Antos, but it didn't go as they had hoped. 'The magistrate was adamant that she would not give us the time that we asked for to present our evidence,' Tong claimed. 'My legal team and I basically said, well if we can't present all of our evidence here, we're going to lose anyway, so we made the decision to not provide any.' As a result, he was found guilty and copped a $2,310 fine. Tong was also ordered to walk his dogs on a daily basis, and hire a professional trainer. Less than an hour later, Tong — who claims to have spent over $100,000 on the lengthy legal battle — and his team filed an appeal. A hearing in the Country Court of Victoria has been set for November, which he expects will cost another $55,000 to $60,000. However, not appealing the ruling could leave him without a home, Tong said. 'My dogs are certainly not barking at those times and in those situations and I'm not going to plead guilty to it,' he told Yahoo. More importantly, a guilty verdict could prompt the complainants to obtain a removal order from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), forcing he, his wife, and their pets, from their home of 21 years. 'That would be disastrous,' he said. A spokesperson for the City of Boroondara told Yahoo the council 'understands excessive barking can be a nuisance and will investigate complaints from Boroondara residents and take action as necessary'. 'As this matter is before the courts, we are unable to comment further,' they said. Tong has created a GoFundMe to help fund the upcoming court case. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Inside dog owner's bizarre five-year battle to defend his two Jack Russells - as he now risks losing his house after shelling out $100k in legal costs
A dog owner who has forked out more than $100,000 defending his two Jack Russells in an astonishing five-year long legal fight insists his pets haven't done anything wrong. Glenn Tong was charged by the Boroondara Council in October 2020 for allowing his dogs, Marco and Mia, to bark excessively at his Hawthorn home in the eastern Melbourne suburbs. The dog owner was subsequently found guilty and told Daily Mail Australia he risks losing his home if he doesn't appeal the verdict. Mr Tong has already spent more than $100,000 defending Marco and Mia, and estimates he'll pay at least $60,000 more. The original complaint accused Mr Tong of allowing the dogs to bark excessively, particularly early in the mornings and late at night. It was alleged the barking was a nuisance to his neighbours. Mr Tong, who is the chief executive of biotech company VGI Health, objected to the complaint and is adamant his dogs are not to blame. 'When the council asked me, 'Are they your dogs barking?' I said no because these dogs sleep in the bed with me and my wife,' he said. 'If the dogs barked we would know, they sleep under the duvet between us. But, the council didn't listen.' Mr Tong insisted he had a 'good relationship' with most neighbours in his apartment building and that the small minority who complained were 'mostly old people'. Four years after being charged, Mr Tong appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court last year hoping to make his case with his legal team but claimed he was given a 'truncated hearing'. Mr Tong and his dogs are represented by Australia's only dog lawyer Brett Melke and criminal barrister Tass Antos. 'The magistrate was adamant she wanted to finish the hearing on a certain date, even though we told her with that timeframe, there is no way we can present our evidence properly,' Mr Tong said. 'My lawyer, my barrister and I decided if we're not going to be able to present our evidence properly let's make sure we don't present any evidence. Mr Tong was found guilty, fined $2300, and ordered to engage a professional trainer for his dogs. His legal team immediately filed an appeal, which he said was 'all part of our strategy'. Explaining why this matter is so important to him, Mr Tong said he 'would never plead guilty for charges where I'm not guilty'. 'The dogs clearly don't bark excessively, they bark, every single dog barks,' he said. 'The allegation of dogs barking early in the morning, late at night, every day and that they react to every single stimuli is completely rubbish.' 'I'm not guilty and neither are the dogs.' Mr Tong faces a fine of up to $198 for each dog, $396 in total. Mr Tong will return to court in November for a 10 day hearing, where 23 witnesses are set to give evidence. He insisted that he 'doesn't care about the money. 'I'm fighting for my home and my dogs,' he said. The businessman feared the complaining neighbours could take the guilty verdict to a tribunal and declare his dogs a nuisance. 'They could give a removal order, so I would be ordered to remove the dogs within 28 days and that's not going to happen,' he said. 'Our dogs are our lives. They go everywhere with us. If we're ordered to remove them from our home, we would have to move and find another home.' Mr Tong has set up a GoFundMe page in Marco and Mia's name to help fund the court case.
