Durban - The family of a 75kg Saint Bernard, who have fought a protracted legal battle with the Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate to keep their beloved family pet on the estate, have conceded defeat.
Attorney Edward Abraham and his mother, Pathmasolahani Abraham, have decided to give up their fight and relocate Theodore.
On Thursday a pet relocation company will pick up Theodore from the estate – where he has lived for the past three years – and take him to Cape Town to live with Edward’s sister, Nicolene Pillay, and her husband, Anand.
“It was time we stopped fighting. We did not want any more pain and we just want to put this to rest,” Edward said on Monday.
He was talking of his family’s decision to abandon their bid to the Supreme Court of Appeal to have the decision of the Pietermaritz-burg High Court reversed after it ordered them to remove the dog from the estate within three months.
“I decided to take the advice I would have probably given a client of mine and re-home Theodore,” Edward said.
Theodore will be transported by road to Johannesburg on Thursday and flown to Cape Town on a cargo plane.
Edward said Theodore would live with his sister for a few months until he found a suitable home in Durban.
“My sister got married recently and she relocated to Cape Town. We decided to do this now, at the beginning of the year, as a fresh slate. We are tired of all this and we just want this process to be over,” he said.
Edward said the home in Mt Edgecome was his mother’s, and he would be looking for a new home in Durban where Theodore could stay with him.
“I have already started looking and hopefully I can find a place really soon,” he said.
Edward and his mother took the estate to court in 2012 when they were refused permission to keep Theodore on the property.
The estate only allows non-aggressive breeds of dog that do not exceed 20kg when fully grown.
They argued that, among other things, there were other large dogs on the estate, and they had not breached any rules.
In September, Judge Peter Olsen ruled against the Abrahams, later turning down an application for leave to appeal.
Edward said on Monday that while they had made the painful decision to remove Theodore from the estate, they still believe they did nothing wrong.
“I still honestly and truly believe in our case.
“I believe we had merit in our case and I don’t think we did anything wrong. I still don’t think we broke the rules,” he said.
“Unfortunately that is the way things go, and it did not go our way this time and we have to deal with the consequences. I know there are no guarantees in litigation, and although there is a lot of emotion, I had to detach that emotion and take the advice I would have given a client.”
Daily News