A woman was sentenced after her severely malnourished puppy was found with severe injuries. Photo / Tracy Neal
A woman was sentenced after her severely malnourished puppy was found with severe injuries. Photo / Tracy Neal
A woman has been sentenced after a starving puppy was found with a bullet lodged in his leg, a fractured hip, and a stomach full of fish bones.
The pitbull-cross puppy’s owner pleaded guilty at Tauranga District Court yesterday to ill-treatment and failing to provide proper and sufficient food toan animal.
SPCA inspectors said they were called to the woman’s property in June 2024 where the 5-month-old puppy, known as Patchy, was discovered. They said the puppy was emaciated, had an “obvious limp,” and stood with his right hind leg off the ground.
X-ray scans found Patchy had a fractured hip, estimated to have occurred two weeks earlier. A bullet was also found lodged in his leg, though the wound had since healed.
Patchy was “humanely euthanised” due to his injuries and emaciated state. Vets concluded Patchy’s hip injury caused severe and ongoing pain and significantly limited his mobility. Post-mortem examinations found his stomach was filled with more than 100 fish bones and large fish scales.
“The owner had every opportunity to seek help from a veterinarian or SPCA for food or assistance... but chose not to.
“As a result, Patchy’s life ended before it even began.”
The woman admitted to inspectors she had noticed Patchy was in pain and gave him antibiotics and paracetamol in his food. She said she could not afford to take him to the vet.
The owner was sentenced to nine months’ supervision and 100 hours’ community work. She was also disqualified from owning all animals for three years and ordered to pay $828 in reparations and $250 to cover legal fees.
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