A Cringila woman has been ordered to pay more than $2000 and banned from owning an animal for five years, after a court ruled on the “cruel” demise of a pet staffordshire bull terrier called Rolly.
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Teena Leah Coster remains unrepentant about her failure to take the dog to a vet in the 4-5 months after he was attacked by his son.
By the time RSPCA inspectors came calling in August, the dog had a still-bleeding fleshy tear wound to the left side of its muzzle, a chronic ear infection and a hole separating its nose from its nasal cavity.
Its faeces was thick with live worms and, unable to breathe from its nose, it made loud, laboured noises as the inspectors approached.
Coster told inspectors she hadn’t expected the dog to “survive his injuries anyway”, but “didn’t believe anyone had the right to kill another soul” – a position she maintained outside Wollongong Local Court on Friday.
“The neighbours had ... said my dog had attacked their little Pomeranian, and had it down as a dangerous dog, so I knew as soon as I took it there they would have put it down,” she told the Mercury. “It’s like putting one of your kids down.”
“He wasn’t suffering. OK, he couldn’t breathe through his nose, but he could still breathe through his mouth and he was getting better. He didn’t deserve to die.”
An RSPCA vet determined the dog was in extreme pain and he was euthenaised
Magistrate Cate Follent convicted Coster of aggravated cruelty and two counts of not providing veterinary treatment. "If people aren’t prepared to take on the responsibilities that attend owning a pet, they shouldn’t own a pet from the outset,” she said.
“I note that the dog in question was obviously in considerable pain, over a considerable period.
“Pet ownership attracts responsibilities, and those responsibilities include taking hard decisions when one needs to in respect of the future life course of an animal.”
Coster was placed on a two-year-good behavior bond and fined $2000, plus $282.85 in costs.