Aussie pop star Tones and I is charged over deadly dog attack – after her American bulldog escaped their $7m mansion and tore the neighbour’s cavoodle to shreds
Australian pop star Tones and I’s dog has been put down after it killed a cavoodle by biting it on the neck and refusing to let go.
The 32-year-old singer’s American bulldog ‘Boss’ escaped her $7million mansion on the Mornington Peninsula in November last year and attacked her neighbour’s dog.
Boss was euthanized.
On Thursday Dromana Magistrates’ Court ordered the singer, whose name is Toni Elizabeth Watson, to pay a $3000 fine and the council’s costs, The Herald Sun reported.
The court was told Watson’s neighbour, Wayne Schultz, was walking his two cavoodles when he spotted her Labrador Charlie stuck outside her electric gates.
He called out to Watson’s friend Tahlia as she arrived at the property and, as she opened the gate, Boss ran outside, the magistrate heard.
Boss bit one of Mr Schultz’s cavoodles on the neck and would not let go, the court was told.
Mr Schultz, someone passing the incident and Watson’s husband Jason ‘Jimmy’ Bedford had to separate the two dogs.
The court heard the cavoodle died as a result of its injuries.
Aussie singer Tones and I (pictured) was ordered to pay a fine of $3000 after her American bulldog ‘Boss’ attacked a neighbour’s dog outside her $7million property
Toni Watson’s American bulldog Boss allegedly attacked a neighbour’s cavoodle when a friend of the pop singer opened the property’s gate
The fatal dog attack happened outside Watson’s $7million property in Mount Eliza
Mr Schultz was injured, with a bite on his knee and a bruised eye.
The stranger’s hand was fractured when he allegedly hit the bulldog while helping split up the dogs.
The court was told Watson wept with her neighbours on the night of the incident.
They reportedly would not accept her offer to pay for the cavoodle’s cremation due to the fact the dog was 17-years-old.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Watson’s team for comment.
The pop star did not front court as she is in the United States recording an album but she was represented by barrister Cameron Scott. Her husband also attended.
Mr Scott told the court the musician had accepted responsibility and took the matter ‘very seriously’.
She was ordered to pay a fine for failing to securely confine two dogs and for not re-registering the American bulldog.
Watson smashed records with her song Dance Monkey which received three billion streams on Spotify by 2024
Watson started her career living in a van and busking but it has since transformed with the property on the Mornington Peninsula her fourth home
Tones and I rose to fame from humble beginnings, starting her career busking.
Her debut single Johnny Run Away was a hit and, on the back of that success, the song Dance Monkey broke records and catapulted her to stardom.
Dance Monkey hit a staggering three billion streams on Spotify in 2024, making her the first female artist in the world to achieve the mega streaming milestone.
She took to Instagram to mark the achievement with a portrait of herself alongside the caption: ‘The first female in the WORLD.’
The hit is one of the most successful songs in Australian pop music history.
Watson previously revealed she wrote the song while living in a van and ‘playing music on the street’.
Her life has since transformed, with the $7.08million mansion in Mount Eliza her fourth home.
The stunning state-of-the-art property, bought by Watson in 2021, features a basement lounge, pool and spa, and marble kitchen complete with a $150,000 oven.
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion sits across two levels, and also features a tennis court, sunken fire pit and bar.
There are also colour-changing light fixtures in the basement, a 3000-bottle wine cellar, wine lounge and underwater views of the pool.
