'Traumatic' case of Hawke's Bay dog chained up and left to die

SPCA animal welfare inspector Pip Lamb pictured with SPCA dog Hermione, not the dog Whero mentioned in the article, says the case was "pretty traumatic". Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay SPCA animal welfare inspector Pip Lamb knows the stark reality of how some animals are treated in New Zealand.

But the case of Kura Munro, aged 37, who was prosecuted for ill-treatment of a dog, still lives on in her mind as a "pretty traumatic" experience.

Whero, a crossbreed brindle, was found dead by the SPCA team in 2018, chained to a wooden kennel and emaciated.

The case has made the SPCA's 2021 List of Shame which is released ahead of its annual appeal.

Sadly for Lamb, it's just the worst of a number of chained up animal cases she's dealt with in the region.

Whero was found extremely thin and a vet examination concluded he was emaciated, had hookworm eggs in his faeces and black faeces stuck to his rectum contained digested blood.

He also had blood oozing from his gums around his top teeth and serious fat atrophy.

The vet concluded that the combination of starvation and suspected stomach ulcers and blood loss would have caused severe discomfort.

Lamb said when they searched the property they discovered Whero's body still on a chain tied to the kennel.

"Just one of the saddest dogs I have ever seen."

She does the job because she loves animals so seeing a dog in that circumstance was difficult.

"One of the hardest things is we get a lot of calls to dogs on chains who are skinny, but with Whero it had got past that point and he'd already died so we couldn't come in and affect any change."

Munro was found guilty in October 2019 then sentenced in March 2020 at the Napier District Court to nine months' supervision and was disqualified from owning dogs for five years and ordered to pay $740.

The case highlights the issue of chaining dogs in New Zealand which Lamb said "is really prevalent" in the region, attending a case most weeks.

"The chained dogs we get called to are often the more severe cases, not just dogs chained up with a kennel and those sorts of things, it's ones more like Whero unfortunately."

The SPCA's policy is to not chain dogs at all, if possible.

If people do need to tether their dog for periods of time she recommends that dogs aren't kept on a chain 24/7, and are able to spend time with their owners.

Lamb also recommends taking your dog on a daily walk, and giving them access to a solid kennel that protects them from the elements.

They should also have access to food and water away from where they defecate, and a swivel on their chain so they can move easily.

The Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018 legislation has a lot to do with tethered dogs and meant "there's a bit more opportunity for us to have impact now", Lamb said.

"[The regulations] have been in place for a while now and so if you've got a dog and you need to, for whatever reason, have it on a tether just make sure you have done your research and are aware of what the requirements are so that you are meeting your obligations as a pet owner."

SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen said the "horrific" list of shame cases "reminds us that there is still much to be done to tackle the issue of animal abuse".