Big Teddy in the doghouse

26 January 2014 - 02:01 By Santham Pillay
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FLUFFY AND IDLE: Rita Abraham with Theodore, who has fallen foul of a Mount Edgecombe housing estate's 20kg limit for pets. Picture: JACKIE CLAUSEN
FLUFFY AND IDLE: Rita Abraham with Theodore, who has fallen foul of a Mount Edgecombe housing estate's 20kg limit for pets. Picture: JACKIE CLAUSEN

A two-year-old Saint Bernard is a bone of contention between a Mount Edgecombe family and the management of a housing estate.

Businesswoman Rita Abraham and her family have spent more than R100000 in a bid to keep their dog, Theodore.

For the past two years, the Abraham family and the management of the Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate have been engaged in a legal battle over whether Theodore should be allowed to live on the estate. Estate rules do not permit dogs heavier than 20kg. The family says the dog weighs 73kg.

An agreement to settle the matter out of court was reached last year, but the Abrahams are once again going the legal route. Two weeks ago, they were informed that their second application to register Theodore had been denied.

"It's sad," said Abraham. "We have known this dog for two years. He has his own personality and he has become a member of the family. We can't just get rid of him so easily."

Abraham's son Edward said they felt "duped" by the events. Edward engaged the services of Kemp J Kemp - the advocate who has represented President Jacob Zuma in a number of civil and criminal matters - in their fight to keep Theodore.

Edward said he felt they were being unfairly targeted because there were other residents with dogs over the weight limit.

"We have seen other big dogs on the estate. When we got Theodore, not being able to keep him was not something that even occurred to me. Theodore is not a dog that does much."

In an initial counter-application, Basil Kenneth Schreiber, the estate manager, called the mother and son's application "ill-conceived" and added that the dog should be removed from the estate because Theodore clearly outweighed the 20kg limit.

Schreiber said the estate management had previously taken action against other residents with big dogs, including one resident who was fined R1000 a month for her two Labradors.

The estate management did not respond to questions about whether the board would challenge a new court application by the Abrahams.

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