Cruelty conviction for Busby woman with emaciated pet dog and worm-burdened puppies

A 26-year-old Busby woman was convicted and sentenced at Liverpool Local Court on 23 November 2021 in relation to multiple animal cruelty charges.

They include four charges of failing to provide veterinary treatment to her female American Staffordshire Terrier dog and her five puppies for emaciation, fly bite to ears, fleas, and gastrointestinal parasites.

On 31 March 2021, an RSPCA NSW inspector attended the defendant’s Busby property in response to a cruelty complaint.

On arrival, the inspector found five puppies covered in faeces inside a filthy enclosure. The puppies had swollen stomachs, indicative of heavy worm burden, and were the size of 5-week-old puppies despite being nine weeks old.

The mother dog had clearly visible protruding rib and hip bones and fly bitten ears.

When questioned, the defendant revealed that five puppies from the litter of ten had died and she had not taken any of the puppies, dead or alive, to a veterinarian, ever.

The puppies and their mother were seized and transported to the RSPCA NSW Sydney Veterinary Hospital for assessment. Upon their arrival to the hospital, the defendant called the inspector to surrender all the dogs into RSPCA NSW care.

The examining veterinarian found the dog and her pups to be extremely underweight with no palpable body fat.

Each animal was infested with fleas with extensive flea dirt present. Combined with the untreated fly bite on the adult female’s ears, this meant they were all experiencing unnecessary pain and suffering.

Every puppy had a high number of roundworm eggs on their faecal float exam and they each had distended abdomens. Each puppy also had severe urine and faecal soiling, meaning their coats had been heavily soiled for multiple days.

Cruelty conviction for Busby woman with emaciated pet dog and worm-burdened puppies The defendant was convicted on all charges. For failing to provide vet treatment for the dogs’ emaciation, she was sentenced to an 18-month Community Correction Order, to be served concurrently with a 12-month Community Correction Order imposed for the offences relating to the dogs’ fleas, fly bite and roundworm.

Magistrate Elks also ordered the defendant to pay a $500 fine with 50% moiety to RSPCA NSW, professional costs of $313.56, and disqualified her from owning any animal for five years.

“Pet owners have a legal obligation to do the right thing by their animal, and watching them needlessly suffer is inexcusable,” said RSPCA NSW Chief Inspector Scott Meyers.

“These poor pups have had a rough start to life, but with the continued support of the community, we will be there to answer the call for help and rescue animals in need.”