Owner of Arnie, dog found dead in claimed stolen ute, pleads guilty in court

A man who after falsely claimed his ute had been stolen with his German shepherd inside, prompting a lengthy search throughout Brisbane before the dog was found dead, has pleaded guilty in court.

Nathan McKeown was charged in November over the death of his seven-year-old dog Arnie, in a case that gripped thousands of people around Australia.

He pleaded guilty to all of his offences, including over the death of Arnie, and driving unlicensed and under the influence of liquor and a drug.

McKeown waited in a separate room before he was brought into the court through a side door with police.
The court heard McKeown had no criminal history.

McKeown had said he put Arnie in the back of his Toyota Hilux ute with some water around November 7 after a few minor scuffles had broken out with his friend’s kelpie.

Then he claimed the vehicle had been stolen from a friend’s house in the bayside Brisbane suburb of Wynnum in the early hours.

While Arnie was presumed missing, McKeown and his wife, Louise, pleaded on television for the safe return of their dog.

As the search continued, the couple offered a $6000 reward for Arnie’s return. Thousands of people across the country began following the case on the McKeowns’ Facebook page.

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” McKeown told Nine News in one interview.

Police said they were working around the clock to follow all leads to find the dog.

In a tragic turn, Arnie was found dead inside the Hilux on Amelia Street in Fortitude Valley. Temperatures around that time were close to 30 degrees.

Across the road from where the Hilux was parked is an erotic massage parlour.

The couple posted on Facebook, thanking people for their help in trying to track down the ute and Arnie.

But the following day police charged McKeown, with investigators alleging the vehicle had not been stolen.

They said McKeown had driven the ute himself to Fortitude Valley just after 10.30pm on November 7, leaving Arnie inside.

The accused had told his partner the car had been stolen, and she contacted police. Police said they believed she had been honest, as she genuinely believed the ute had been stolen when she made the report.

On Thursday, McKeown appeared in the Cleveland Magistrates Court, charged with injuring animals causing injury or death by night. He was also charged with traffic offences.

He was escorted to the courthouse with two police officers and a lawyer, and refused to speak to journalists outside.

More to come.