A woman who threw her pet dog against a wall, breaking several bones and puncturing its lung, has been sentenced to a community order and banned from owning dogs for three years by the Porirua District Court.
The SPCA, which charged the woman with reckless mistreatment of an animal, said an inspector was called to the property in April 2022 and found the white terrier, named Mister, tied to an outside railing at the back of the building.
He was lying on his side with one eye swollen and red.
Concerned, the inspector took the little dog to the nearest veterinary clinic for emergency treatment before transferring him to the SPCA’s Wellington base.
A vet who examined Mister said he appeared to be in “immense pain”, particularly in his ribs, abdomen and left shoulder, which made a “crunching” noise when moved.
X-rays showed Mister had multiple rib fractures, some of which appeared to be between two and four weeks old, a punctured lung and a badly broken shoulder.
His owner told SPCA inspectors that the dog had woken her and her sleeping children the night before after getting his claw caught in a rug.
While trying to help him, she accidentally stood in his feces, which made her angry.
“The next day, the defendant decided to punish Mister by putting him on a leash outside. But when she did so, Mister tried to bite her.
She told the inspectors: “I just grabbed him by his collar, pulled him up, put him on the leash, and then I just threw him”.
She said she kicked Mister “to discipline him” and did not intend to hurt the dog.
SPCA chief executive Todd Westwood said such “appalling abuse and violence” against animals was unacceptable.
“It is sickening to think of the fear, pain and distress this helpless family pet endured at the hands of the person who was supposed to care for him,” he said. “Mister did not deserve any of this, and I’m so grateful that the SPCA was alerted to this abuse before it could continue.”
Mister spent several weeks in care and eventually made a full recovery. He has since been adopted.
The defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one month of community confinement and six months of supervision.
She was also banned from owning dogs for three years and ordered to pay $598.17 in restitution.
