An Aussie Gold Hunters star has lashed out at police for shooting dead his dog during a dramatic arrest.
An officer shot Rob Dale’s French Mastiff-cross Great Dane named Monty on Wednesday as the dog mauled a female officer and a suspected burglar.
Police responded to Dale’s Stratton home in Perth’s northeast at 9.30am on Tuesday to arrest 33-year-old James Stuart Edmonds.
But before they could handcuff him, the dog attacked Edmonds, biting his legs and also sinking its teeth into the female officer’s hands and legs.
A male officer then fatally shot Monty to “prevent further injury” during the altercation.
Mr Dale, 40, who was not home at the time, said his good-natured dog was just trying to protect those in the house after the two officers showed up unannounced.
“(The police) ignored the sign on the door that said, ‘Beware of the dog,’ and not only did they shoot a member of my family, but they shot him in the back and removed everyone from the house and left him there to die,” the reality star told the Western Australia.
Aussie Gold Hunters star Rob Dale has lashed out at police for shooting his dog dead during a dramatic arrest
An officer shot Rob Dale’s French Mastiff cross Great Dane, named Monty, on Wednesday as the dog mauled a female officer and a suspected burglar
‘They were not allowed to wrap a bandage around his wound, or care for him at all… he was left there to die alone.
Mr Dale said he is trying to come to terms with the death of his dog, who he said was built like a “horse, but thinks he’s a chihuahua”.
“I’m glad my daughter wasn’t there when this happened because it could have been a different outcome… and myself, if I were to witness that, I don’t know if I’d be standing here today,” Mr. Dale said .
His family returned to the house without Monty for the first time on Wednesday after police examined several bicycles in the property and also towed a car away on Tuesday.
A WA Police spokesperson said the incident was “confrontational and traumatic for everyone involved, including the police officers”.
“It was a dynamic situation that resulted in a police officer and an arrested suspect suffering dog bite wounds, and the dog, which had become aggressive and unpredictable, being fatally shot to stop the attack,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Dale (pictured left), said police left Monty to die a slow and lonely death after everyone in the house was removed or taken to hospital
A WA Police spokesperson said the incident was ‘confronting and traumatic for everyone involved, including the police officers’ (pictured, officers on scene)
The officer required surgery and remains hospitalized, while Edmonds was released Tuesday afternoon.
“It is a tragic set of circumstances, but the actions of the officer who discharged the firearm have been reviewed and their actions were found to be reasonable and justified at the time,” the spokesperson said.
WA Police also arrested another man on Tuesday in connection with recent thefts in the area.
Arron Robert McKinney, 45, is said to have broken into a house on North Road, Bassendean, with Edmonds and stolen several items earlier in the day.
Edmonds has been charged with three counts of aggravated burglary, four counts of theft and one count of motor vehicle theft.
McKinney faces one count each of aggravated burglary and theft.
Police were about to arrest alleged burglar James Stuart Edmonds, 33 (pictured), at a home on Stratton Boulevard at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday when the attack unfolded.
Edmonds and Arron Robert McKinney, 45, (pictured) appeared in court on Wednesday accused of breaking into a house in Bassendean earlier in the day
They both appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where their cases were adjourned for legal advice.
Mr Dale made his name in the television series Aussie Gold Hunters, in which he starred on Discovery Australia between seasons six and eight.
He played alongside Rob ‘Turbo’ Linton and the pair were known as The Gold Timers.
The couple once dramatically stopped a suspected thief from stealing $500 worth of gold they were expecting.