Robert Leslie Lewis: Great Southern dog breeder who neglected kelpies and drove unlicensed receives jail term

A Great Southern dog breeder who neglected six caged kelpies and drove unlicensed across WA multiple times has been jailed, fined thousands and disqualified from driving for the next decade. Robert Leslie Lewis appeared in Katanning Magistrates Court on May 27 for sentencing on 12 counts of no authority to drive, two counts of driving an unlicensed vehicle and restraining an animal that caused unnecessary harm. The 74-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges across eight court appearances from March 3, 2024, to April 29 this year. On February 16, 2024, Lewis was caught driving in Mt Barker while under four license suspensions that did not expire until August 2027. Two months later, Lewis was stopped by police in Tenterden for driving an unlicensed vehicle and trailer that had three cages containing two kelpies each. Police confiscated the vehicle while the trailer holding the dogs was kept on a friend’s property nearby, which Lewis said he would pick up the following morning. Lewis failed to retrieve the dogs the next day and verbally abused police over the phone when asked to pick them up. The kelpies, including one puppy, were kept in the 1100mm by 500mm cages for about 30 hours in the rain without food or water, standing in their faeces and urine. The dogs were taken to the Mt Barker Veterinary Hospital by the RSPCA at 8pm that night. After this, Lewis was captured by road cameras driving different vehicles from October 13 to 28 in Ravensthorpe, Norseman, Eucla, Cocklebiddy, Coolgardie, Beaufort River and Albany. He told police he was travelling to the Eastern States to collect breeding dogs and a vehicle. Lewis was spotted again driving in Kojonup on January 6, 2025. He attempted to evade police unsuccessfully and the vehicle was impounded. Road cameras showed him driving in Victoria Park, Peppermint Grove and Kojonup on January 14, 15 and 24 this year. Defence lawyer Sonia Anderson said her client’s dogs were very important to him and his driving offences related to providing them care. She said Lewis had no way of retrieving the dogs from Tenterden without a vehicle or license and the vet had declared the dogs to be in good health after the “acute” incident. Prosecutor Sgt Gary Simpson said Lewis had shown a “deliberate disregard” for the law and his offending could have “easily been avoided”. He requested the dogs be forfeited to police and said “anything less than immediate imprisonment won’t stop (Lewis) offending”. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell noted there was “nothing to indicate to me that (Lewis) is in the habit of hurting animals” but was concerned about him continuing to drive. She sentenced him to 12 months in jail and fined him $5200 for the offences and $439.80 in costs. His licence was suspended until August 2036.