Published on www.tvnz.co.nz on 3 May 2019
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/spca-prosecutes-auckland-man-left-dog-badly-infected-eye
Snitch, a dog who was left in pain by his owner after suffering an eye injury. Source: SPCA
An Auckland man has been sentenced after he left a dog in significant pain for several months with a badly infected eye.
Petelo Iosefa-Tamalii was charged with failing to ensure that an animal that is ill or injured received treatment and was sentenced to 100 hours community services and ordered to pay SPCA $571.28.
In February of 2018, the SPCA was alerted to a male fox terrier called Snitch who was in pain in Otara.
Investigators found Snitch had lost his right eyelid completely, and was unable to blink, and had become swollen, dry and infected.
The dog was also suffering from skin lesions, dirty ear canals and had fleas.
Iosefa-Tamalii told inspectors he didn’t have the money to take Snitch to a vet, and said his injury had been caused some months earlier when children poked his eye with a stick.
The dog was in significant pain and vets were forced to humanely euthanise him.
Andre Midgen, CEO of the SPCA, said “animals are wholly dependent on their owners to meet their needs, and in this case, Snitch was let down by his owner.
“Knowingly allowing an animal to suffer for so long is an appalling act of neglect and is completely unacceptable.
“When adopting an animal, owners assume care of their pet for its whole lives and must accept the responsibilities associated with pet ownership.”