North animal cruelty cases shock SPCA

Northland is extending its reputation as the animal cruelty capital of New Zealand.
While pampered pets were feted in parks and blessed in churches as part of World Animal Day at the weekend, Whangarei SPCA was dealing with shocking cases of animal abuse.
As well, a loved family cat at Whangarei Heads was recently shot, the bullet passing through the cat's spine.
Northland has topped the SPCA's annual animal cruelty "list of shame" for the past two years and looks likely to head the field when the 2005 list is released next month.
A Dargaville dog owner faces prosecution after two mixed-breed female dogs were seized by animal control staff and handed over to the SPCA on Friday night. Both dogs were starved, and one was so emaciated she could not stand.
They have no muscle or body fat anywhere on their bodies, and their faces are so skeletal their breed is hard to determine.
SPCA manager Francine Shields described the case as one of the worst she had seen.
"It's ironic that we have this during the weekend of the Blessing of the Animals," she said.
Animals brought into the SPCA are assessed on a scale of one to 10, one being the worst condition. In this case the weaker dog was assessed at one on the scale and the other at 1.5.
The weaker dog weighed only 12.5kg instead of an estimated 35kg, based on her age and size.
The worst of the two was kept in an animal hospital at the weekend at a veterinary clinic, but was strong enough to be returned to the SPCA on Monday.
"Both are going to need extensive care. Their skin is clean, with no lesions - they are purely starved," Ms Shields said. "They are literally skin and bone."
The dogs' condition had improved in the few days the SPCA had had them in care but they were not out of danger. It could be some time before it was known whether they had suffered organ damage, Ms Shields said.
The dogs would need up to three months recuperation, and also faced tests to see whether their natures made them suitable for adoption. The SPCA would also seek custody of the dogs, which could involve legal action.
That was not the only distressing case SPCA staff dealt with at the weekend.
An unregistered female puppy with a severely disfiguring, amateur suturing job on her face was taken into care after being found roaming in Otangarei.
At some stage in the puppy's young life a sizeable gash had been treated by an unqualified person. Muscle had been sewn up with the skin during the botched job.
"The pain that puppy went through during that process would have been very severe - there would have been no anesthetic used," Ms Shields said.
On Saturday SPCA staff also took in a female german shepherd who had been found in a Whangarei street dragging her hind quarters on the ground. The mature dog had severe arthritis and may have had a stroke, Ms Shields said.
"We suspect she hasn't received any medical attention and nobody seems to be looking for her. It's a very poor outlook. The dog is in pain and is not going to recover."
Meanwhile, Delwynne May was horrified when the family's pet two-year-old ginger and white tomcat Murphy was shot along Campbell Rd, Parua Bay.
Police are investigating the shooting, which happened between 6.45am, when the cat was let out after a night inside, and 7.45am one day last month.
Ms May said the four children in the house at the time were sickened by the callous and cruel attack on Murphy.
She did not hear the shot, but saw Murphy rush indoors and straight under her bed. He would not come out and after moving the bed she saw blood on both sides of his body.
Murphy was rushed to a vet, who managed to save the cat, but Ms May wants whoever took the pot shot caught. The shooting had left her two kids wary about playing outside.