GEORGE NEWS - "They are my dogs and I can do with them what I want." These were the words of a 16-year-old boy from Eden Park when SPCA inspectors confiscated five puppies shortly after he allegedly mutilated one by cutting off her ears with a knife.
Last Monday afternoon, the Garden Route SPCA received a call about an injured puppy at a house in Eden Park, Pacaltsdorp.
Trainee inspector Andrea Auerbach and education / field officer Vanessa Lucas tended to the call immediately. They could however never be prepared for what they found.
"When we arrived the owner said that he didn't need our help, that it wasn't that serious. . . We insisted on seeing her anyway," Auerbach said.
The owner eventually took the puppy, Ally, out of the crate where she was kept with her four brothers and sisters whose ears were thankfully still intact. The crate was standing outside in the rain and was soaking wet. Ally's ears had been brutally cut off close to her head.
"We gave the puppy one look and confiscated all of them on the spot. He tried to convince us that Ally lost both her ears when she slammed them in the door."
Ally and her siblings were taken to safety on Monday afternoon and by Wednesday she already had a potential home.
Apart from being worm-infested, she was also diagnosed with canine parvovirus (parvo) on Thursday afternoon and died on Saturday.
"She was a real little fighter. She gave it everything she had and we all tried our best to save her, but I suppose the trauma and pain of having her ears cut off, the worms and on top of that parvo, was just too much for that little body to handle," said the woman who was hoping to become Ally's new 'mom'. She asked that her name be withheld.
* The SPCA will open a case of animal cruelty as soon as all the necessary documents, including the report of the vet who treated Ally, have been received.
Education and field officer Vanessa Lucas (left) and trainee inspector Andrea Auerbach with little Ally on Wednesday afternoon. Photos: Kristy Kolberg
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