By Fatima Halloum
It started like every other daily walk at President’s Park for Werribee resident Leah*, and her six month old dog Remi.
By the end of the walk last May, Leah’s shirt was soaked in blood, her once happy puppy whimpering painfully in distress after an unstable bollard toppled and landed on Remi.
“We were just walking along a path…as we passed the bollard, it just fell, it collapsed, the next thing we know, there’s blood on the path,” she said.
“At first I was absolutely stunned and shocked, and then my brain kicked in and I just put all my attention on her.
“It was obvious from the amount of blood [that] she had to go straight to the vet.”
Remi’s toe on her back left paw needed to be amputated.
The Kelpador has spent the last five months wearing a cone, not allowed to play ball, not able to bound about outside.
“She was pretty much the world’s happiest dog, and this has made her so withdrawn,” Leah said.
Leah submitted a claim to Wyndham council, with photos and her vet bill, asking for her fees to be reimbursed and the bollard to be fixed.
Council responded only to let Leah know the bollard had been fixed, but she says there was no mention of Remi.
“I’m just really angry that there’s no accountability, there’s no care,” she said.
A Wyndham council spokesperson said council assesses all claims thoroughly, to determine its liability.
“Once notified, council officers inspected the bollard and determined it had been impacted and damaged by an unknown third party vehicle. The damage was rectified within three days,” the spokesperson said.
“While council sympathises with the dog’s injury and hope it has healed well, an independent assessment of the incident determined council was not liable in this matter and the claim for reimbursement was not accepted.
“Regrettably, incidents occur which sometimes result in personal injury and/or property damage.
“Council cannot be held liable for incidents emanating from circumstances that are entirely beyond its control.”
Leah said she knows Wyndham council “can’t do everything”, but believes its response is “kind of just heartless”.
“When there’s an unsafe bollard, it can fall on absolutely anybody, even a small child. In this case the cost was Remi’s toe,” she said.
“This should never have happened.
“It remains my greatest concern that there are ongoing issues with these bollards being unlocked and the unaddressed and ongoing harm to park users including children and animals.”
*Leah asked that her surname be withheld to protect her employment
