GEORGE NEWS - In another gruesome incident of negligence by a local dog owner, the Garden Route SPCA had to put a dog down after she was found with a dead puppy inside. This after she was allegedly in labour for weeks and the puppy was stuck in the birth canal.
The owner from Borcherds faces charges of cruelty to animals after Garden Route SPCA Education officer, Vanessa Lucas, found her dog in a gruesome state in her yard on Wednesday 23 May.
The woman allegedly left her dog in agony for weeks. “Her dog had been in labour with a dead puppy stuck in her birth canal for weeks,” said Salomé Bruyns, Garden Route SPCA inspector.
According to Bruyns, Lucas asked the woman on the property to explain what was wrong with the dog and the woman replied that the dog “had been in labour for weeks”, so she was well aware of what was going on.
“There were flies crawling on the dog and it had a very bad smell similar to that of a decomposing body. The dog was in severe pain and, on examination by the veterinarian, it was confirmed that a dead puppy was stuck in her birth canal with its head already visible. The decision was made to end her suffering humanely,” Bruyns explained.
Bruyns added that the woman denied ownership of the dog but she called the dog by its name. The woman said the dog was a stray in the area.
According to the Animals Protection Act, an animal owner is: ‘any person having the possession, charge, custody or control of that animal’.
In another case, a 40-year-old woman from Parkdene was arrested on allegations of cruelty to animals on Friday 28 April. It was alleged that she had hit a dog with an object and also tried to strangle the dog.
Read a related article: Woman arrested for savagely beating dog
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