Claims by a Sydney barrister and her husband that Oscar the Insta-famous cavoodle had been left behind by "co-parent" and cruise worker Mark Gillespie were false, a judge has heard.
Barrister Gina Edwards' defamation trial against the Nine Network and A Current Affair journalist Steve Marshall continued in the Federal Court on Wednesday.
From the witness box, Ms Edwards' husband Ken Flavell said they had met up with barrister Thos Hodgson in December 2019 to get legal advice about who owned Oscar after being denied access to the dog.
Mr Gillespie, who the court heard had agreed to a co-sharing arrangement with Ms Edwards and her husband, sent the pooch to live with his half-brother Peter Fidler and his wife Simona Angeli in the NSW Southern Highlands.
While initially happy to give limited access to Oscar, Mr Fidler and Ms Angeli eventually scrapped this arrangement citing concerns for the dog.
Mr Flavell said he and Ms Edwards met with Mr Hodgson for dinner at a Thai restaurant in Kirribilli to get advice about their legal rights.
Mr Hodgson had allegedly advised them that Oscar had been "abandoned" after being told Mr Gillespie was spending extended periods of time at sea on cruise ships and that the dog had been left with strangers in rural Wingello.
Nine's barrister Dauid Sibtain SC said this was a lie in that Mr Gillespie was still living with his relatives and Oscar in the Southern Highlands when he returned to Australia for vacations.
"So it was not true to say he had gone away and left," the barrister said.
"Well, he had at that period," Mr Flavell responded.
Before the Thai restaurant meeting, Mr Flavell assumed both his rights and those of his wife to spend time with Oscar were "subservient" to Mr Gillespie's who had originally purchased and registered the dog.
"As a layperson, I didn't know any different about our legal rights to Oscar," he said.
Mr Sibtain attacked claims the Kirribilli couple had concerns for Oscar's welfare after spending time down in Wingello, including that his fur was matted, he wasn't being walked and he was underweight.
"In our opinion, he wasn't well looked after. He was usually unkempt," Mr Flavell told Justice Michael Wigney.
While saying they thought the dog was "at risk", he said this did not extend to an imminent threat the animal would be drowned.
"There's a big spectrum between being drowned and being pampered. You didn't have any concerns for his safety and well-being," Mr Sibtain said.
"We did have concerns. We always had concerns," Mr Flavell replied.
In November 2021, a NSW Supreme Court custody lawsuit over Oscar was settled with Mr Gillespie getting an undisclosed sum of money, and Ms Edwards and Mr Flavell getting to keep the dog.
The hearing continues.
