Pistol and Boo avoided the ultimate fate after the Hollywood heart-throb and wife Amber Heard hastily arranged to leave Australia before this morning's deadline.
In their wake, they left the kind of brouhaha you might associate with Captain Jack Sparrow, the legendary character Depp had come to the Gold Coast to reprise.
Filming of the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film has now stalled. There has been talk of heavy fines and even a threat of jail time for the A-list star.
Meanwhile, Australian authorities are reviewing procedures that failed to prevent Depp's dogs entering the country. The unthinkable - an end to private clearance processes - is reportedly being discussed. In future, VIPs like Depp may have to queue in the international arrivals terminal like everyone else. And all because of a couple of tiny terriers that arrived the same way they were due to leave last night - by private jet.
It's almost a month since the actor best known for playing a pirate allegedly smuggled his furry contraband past Customs officers in a VIP area of Brisbane Airport. It's thought that following a flight from the US, Pistol and Boo were placed inside a bag carried by a minder. The celebrity couple failed to secure import permits or complete advance health checks.
Around 10 dogs a day are imported to Australia. By law, they must spend a minimum of 10 days in quarantine.
Joyce, the federal Agriculture Minister, said Depp "snuck" his dogs in from a country that, unlike Australia, is not rabies-free.
"Now, I don't know where he had them, in the Louis Vuitton bag?" said the minister. "But, anyway, they've wandered through with them. And they probably think it's fair enough that they're above the laws, but they're not."
Joyce has been lapping up his own new-found celebrity after he told Depp that the dogs should "bugger off" back to the States or be euthanised.
The headline-grabbing ultimatum prompted international coverage, a string of media appearances and an effective distraction to criticism of his Government's second Budget.
Joyce gave short shrift to critics. "Harsh is if we let down our guard and ultimately rabies gets into the country," he told one interviewer.
Another asked if he hated dogs. "I've got kelpies, my wife has a dachshund," he said. "I must say I prefer bigger dogs to the smaller ones."
Fellow federal MP Clive Palmer, one of Australia's richest businessmen, accused the minister of "making Australia the laughing stock of the world". Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands said Joyce was an "insensitive w***er".
"You sound like an absolute clown telling the guy to bugger off back to Hollywood or we'll kill his dogs," Sandilands told him during a heated interview. "You're a government minister, not some idiot off the street mouthing off to a news camera. Have some decency."
Another suffering abuse was dog groomer Liane Kent, who trimmed Pistol and Boo's hair and gave them a bath. Her subsequent Facebook post and photos alerted authorities.
The Happy Dogz owner says she has been subjected to a torrent of criticism on social media, where the Twitter hashtag #waronterrier has gone viral.
The only other images of Pistol and Boo in Australia have come courtesy of a news helicopter, which spied them playing inside their owner's rented Gold Coast mansion.
Before leaving, Depp, 51, and Heard, 29, were expected to be interviewed by Customs officials.
Immigration and Customs Minister Peter Dutton has ordered an investigation. "I am advised Customs and Border Protection officials attended the flight and conducted a clearance process, including face to face passport checks and document verification," he said. "I have asked for a report ... on the procedures followed for the arrival of these aircraft and whether there was any deviation from accepted practice."
