A 28-year-old woman has been convicted in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court for failing to provide adequate and appropriate food to her two dogs, surrendered to RSPCA South Australia inspectors last September.
Prior to taking the dogs into care, inspectors had issued the woman with Animal Welfare Notices requiring the defendant to feed her dogs three times a day in order to improve their body condition. When inspectors re-attended the defendant's Mt Gambier property under warrant on 6 September 2022, they found both dogs in extremely emaciated condition and without access to water.
The dogs were immediately taken to a Mount Gambier veterinary clinic and were assessed by the attending vet as both having BCS (body condition scores) of 1/9. (On the BCS index, 1-3 is underweight, 4-5 is ideal and 6-9 is overweight/obese.)
One of the dogs, a one-year-old male Staffordshire Terrier cross named King, weighed 9kg when his ideal weight was 19kg. Put on a strict feeding regime, King weighed 14.6kg by 4 October 2022, representing a 62% weight gain. By the time he was rehomed, King's weight had doubled.
The second dog, a ten-month-old Staffordshire Terrier cross named Rex, weighed 16kg when taken into RSPCA SA care when his ideal weight was 23kg. By 1 October 2022 Rex weighed 19.4kg, representing a 21% improvement.
The defendant admitted to RSPCA SA inspectors that she knew King should have seen a vet, given his weight loss.
In the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court yesterday, the lawyer acting for the defendant - Mr Jarrad Sim – entered guilty pleas to both counts of failing to provide adequate and appropriate food. Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos ordered that the defendant enter a 12-month good behaviour bond and be prohibited from owning or having custody of any animals, until further order. The defendant was ordered to pay veterinary costs to RSPCA SA of $497 and legal costs of $358.
King made a full recovery and was rehomed in January this year. Sadly, the behaviour of the second dog - Rex - could not be modified. Despite months of work with RSPCA SA's dog-care team, he continued to pose a risk to public safety and was humanely euthanased. According to RSPCA South Australia Inspector Stuart Thomas, the psychological impact of chronic neglect, such as starvation, is not always understood.
"When we take in dogs like King and Rex, who have been starved for so long, it takes time to bring them up to their ideal weight, but we usually get there in the end," Inspector Thomas said.
"What our skilled dog and vet teams can't always turn around is the reactive, dangerous behaviour of dogs that have become accustomed to fighting to survive.
"As a responsible rehoming organisation, we cannot release any dog into the community that has been assessed by our expert teams as being a risk to public safety, and that is sadly what Rex had become.
"This defendant must have known for some time that her dogs were suffering, but chose to ignore it.
"Once again, we urge people to act before any animal in their care deteriorates - find them a new home, seek help from friends and family or rescue organisations, but don't just turn a blind eye while your animal becomes skin and bones."
Under SA's Animal Welfare Act, the maximum penalty for animal cruelty is $20,000 or two years' imprisonment. For an aggravated cruelty offence, the maximum penalty is $50,000 or four years' imprisonment.
RSPCA South Australia is the state's only animal welfare charity with inspectors empowered to prosecute animal cruelty under SA's Animal Welfare Act.
Members of the public who witness animal cruelty or neglect are urged to immediately call RSPCA's 24-hour cruelty report hotline on 1300 477 722.
