Dog put down after wire left huge gash in throat

The wire a Kaitaia woman used to tie up a dog.

A Kaitaia woman who tied up a dog with wire, causing a horrific 24cm gash to its throat and tied another dog to a clothesline with no shelter has been sentenced to community detention and banned from owning pets for five years.

Chante Roycroft, 32, was sentenced in the Kaitaia District Court yesterday having pleaded guilty to failing to protect an animal from, and rapidly diagnose, any significant injury or disease; failing to ensure an ill or injured animal received treatment that alleviated any unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress being suffered by the animal; ill-treatment of an animal causing the animal to suffer unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress and refusing or failing to comply with requirement of Inspector to prevent or mitigate suffering of an animal.

The charges, laid by the SPCA relate to two dogs and Roycroft was sentenced to four months' community detention, disqualified from owning companion animals for five years, and ordered to pay reparations of $84.83.

Photographs of the injuries to the dog's neck are too gruesome to publish. The dog had to be put down.

The court case results from a string of offences committed by Roycroft in early 2014, beginning on April 3 when she surrendered a brown female staffordshire terrier type dog to the Far North District Council. An FNDC animal control officer was so concerned about the injuries on the dog it was put into the custody of the SPCA.

A veterinarian found the dog had a large, gaping, infected wound in its throat measuring 24cm long, 3cm wide, and 3cm deep.

The wound was consistent with wire being tied tightly around the dog's neck for a long time until it cut into the skin, which would have been very painful and distressing for the dog.

When interviewed, Roycroft produced a length of wire that had been used to tie up the dog. She had noticed the injury two days before the visit from the FNDC, but had not sought veterinary treatment because she had no money and the wound was "smelly". So she left the dog to get better on her own.

On May 22, following a complaint from the public, the SPCA inspector again visited Roycroft's property where a young adult black and white male border collie-type dog was tied up to the clothesline with no shelter.

Roycroft was given the opportunity to forfeit ownership of the dog to the SPCA but refused.

The inspector issued Roycroft with an official notice requiring her to provide adequate shelter for the dog by May 24.

However, when the inspector returned on May 26, the dog was still tied to the clothesline with no shelter.

Roycroft said she had no money and had been too busy to get a kennel for the dog.

When given another opportunity to forfeit ownership of the dog to the SPCA, she again refused, so the inspector took the dog.

"This is the kind of casual neglect of animals that the SPCA sees every day," Ric Odom, CEO of the RNZSPCA said.

"We are indebted to the local council and neighbours for alerting our inspectors to the plight of these dogs. We can't be everywhere and we mainly rely on the general public to keep their eyes open and report to the SPCA whenever they see neglect and/or abuse happening. The sad truth is that right now there are dogs and other animals tied up, helpless, neglected, or abused in back yards throughout New Zealand that we just don't know about yet."

Northland regularly tops the SPCA's list of animal cruelty shame.