Dog lover Dominic Fisher has won his bid to get his shackles loosened... so he can go for a walk.

The convicted thief had been put under partial house arrest, which prevented him from taking his pooch for walkies when he wanted.

He appealed to Canterbury Crown Court to change the times of his curfew, which was imposed by magistrates after his shoplifting conviction.

But Fisher, 42, of St Mildreds Close, Ramsgate found himself in the doghouse when he failed to show up for his appeal... leaving a judge hot under the collar!

In his absence, barrister Simon Taylor pleaded that the the curfew order, for stealing two cans of beer from Tescos in Canterbury, was two hours too short.

Mr Taylor said: "He simply wants to care for his dog, but not many people will have sympathy for his point of view."

Judge James O'Mahoney granted the time change from 6pm to 8pm, but was annoyed at the defendant's non-appearance.

He said: "The remedy would have been to say so at the time. This court is unimpressed by the defendant. He had no regard to his community order and seems to have no regard for courts either.

"Those people who pursue these appeals should realise they cost public money."

But he didn't award costs against Fisher, who is claiming benefit. He also heard Fisher had done just one hour of the 120 hours community service imposed on him.