GUILTY: The open wound that led to some of the the charges against a Kaitaia dog owner.
GUILTY: The open wound that led to some of the the charges against a Kaitaia dog owner.
A 32-year-old Kaitaia woman who tied up a dog with wire, causing a 24cm gash in its neck, and tied another dog to a clothesline without shelter, was sentenced to four month's community detention when she appeared before the Kaitaia District Court yesterday.
Chante Roycroft, who was also disqualified fromowning companion animals for five years and was ordered to pay reparation of $84.83, had earlier admitted charges, involving two dogs, of 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, ill-treatment of an animal, causing unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress, and refusing or failing to comply with the requirement of an inspector to prevent or mitigate the suffering of an animal.
The charges arose from offences committed last year, beginning on April 3 when she surrendered a brown female Staffordshire terrier-type dog to the Far North District Council. An Animal Control officer gave the dog into the custody of the SPCA.
An SPCA inspector and a veterinarian found the dog had a large, gaping, infected wound in its throat , 24cm long, 3cm wide and 3cm deep, described by the veterinarian as consistent with wire being tied tightly around its neck until it cut into the skin, which would have been very painful and distressing.
When interviewed, Roycroft produced a length of wire that had been used to tie up the dog. She had noticed the injury two days prior to the visit from the council, but had not sought veterinary treatment because she had no money and the wound was "smelly". She had left the dog to "get better on her own".
On May 22, following a complaint from a member of the public, the SPCA inspector returned to Roycroft's property, finding a young adult male border collie-type dog tied up to the clothesline without shelter. Roycroft was given the opportunity to forfeit ownership of the dog to the SPCA but refused.
The inspector issued her with an official notice requiring her to provide adequate shelter for the dog by May 24, but when she returned on May 26 it was still tied to the clothesline without shelter.
Roycroft said she had no money, and had been too busy to get a kennel.
"This is the kind of casual neglect of animals that the SPCA sees every day," RSPCA chief executive Ric Odom 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."
