Dixie Coulton and Felix (the wonderful dog) champions of canine rights

By Matt Khoury

It was a sunny spring afternoon on October 28 when Lawrence Gibbons, best-known as the publisher of The City News and President of the Pyrmont-Ultimo Chamber of Commerce, took his canine odd couple (Felix and Oscar) for a Sunday walk.
It was Felix who would write himself into the legal annals of the City of Sydney that afternoon: he chased a cat. Dogs have been chasing cats for a while- the three words bring up 300, 000 ‘google’ hits, and one presumes the number is even greater when you descend from cyber space.
Gibbons claims Gus the cat seduced (in a flirtatious way) the usually peaceful Oscar into the escapade, although this evidence wasn’t destined to be examined by a court of law. But the case of the dog chasing the cat was.
Under the Companion Animal Act, if a canine is found to be guilty of chasing a cat, a $550 fine follows. Gibbons was slapped the fine from a council ranger, and vowed to contest it. (Onlookers weren’t sure whether it was the fine, or his dog’s reputation, that mattered most).
It’s a good thing Felix didn’t catch the cat and maul it- he would’ve ended up with a muzzle and a ‘dangerous dog’ tag hovering over his home for the rest of his life.
More, Gibbons, by contesting the charge in court, risked ending up with a criminal charge. He was interrogated by two council rangers in his office, but maintained Felix’s innocence. The Downing Centre beckoned.
When people (or dogs) are in trouble, a good lawyer is usually the way out. A phone call to ex-City Councillor and dog-lover Dixie Coulton set the scene: a cat with a dog’s name, would face the cat-sounding, wonderful dog represented by a lawyer, who used to be a politician, and sounds like a flower.
In the court room, Coulton pushed the prosecution to withdraw the matter. ‘Your honour, this is no ordinary dog,’ she said. ‘He has adorned the cover of an inner-city newspaper, and even attended the Lord Mayor’s Christmas Party.’
(Gibbons had taken Felix, and Oscar, to the Town Hall event in December, maintaining that a $550 fine practically made them rate-payers).
As the court room laughed, the prosecution decided to withdraw the matter. It was unlikely that Felix and Oscar whimpering in their Darlinghurst yard scared the prosecution. Perhaps it was another odd couple: a loud American publisher and a charming lawyer.
Or, maybe council decided that a $550 fine and criminal record for a dog chasing a cat was a little harsh, and rangers should exercise discresion, before the letter of the law.
Since the case, a meow hasn’t been heard from the previously unknown Gus the cat. But Felix the wonderful dog gave Coulton a lick as they posed for The City News.