The medium-sized rescue dog, a smooth-coated collie cross he adopted four years ago, has always been reluctant to wear a leash on their twice daily walks around the quarry grounds due to her characteristic nervousness.
"She’s got this fight and flight think," Fitzgerald said.
"If something comes up to her (on the lead) she shudders and shakes and sits down."
So Fitzgerald, powerless to stop her chasing the rabbit from an unleashed area to an area where dogs must be on a lead, watched the drama unfolding as a member of the city council animal management team drove past.
After retrieving Lia, Fitzgerald was fined but argued it was unrealistic to prevent her from crossing into an area where dogs must be on a leash.
"This can be avoided by making the area (subject to) dogs under effective control, so you’re only fined if they are bothering people, or another dog, not just for not being on a lead," he said.
"I think they could relax their enforcement of the area and only pursue matters that have actually caused some grief of some sort."
Fitzgerald acknowledged fences could not demarcate the unleashed and leashed areas and did not recommend it due to the design of the quarry’s dog areas. But he said commonsense should prevail.
"The whole idea behind the dog control laws are to stop your dog bothering other people or other dogs, so they don’t cause grief.
"She hasn’t upset anybody. They all chase rabbits up there."
