A 38-year-old Maddington man has been fined $7500, after being found guilty of keeping his 10-week-old French bulldog puppy in squalid and potentially dangerous conditions.
In Armadale Magistrates Court today, the offender was also banned from being in charge of pets for five years. He was ordered to pay $655.30 in court and care costs to RSPCA WA.
RSPCA WA seized the puppy, named Lilly, in May following a report from police, who found her shut inside a bedroom at the offender's home, with no access to food or water.
There was cannabis on the floor of the house, and Lilly was noted to be withdrawn and whimpering with an extremely enlarged stomach, raising concerns she had ingested the drugs.
At the Animal Care Centre in Malaga, RSPCA WA vets found Lilly was suffering from intestinal infection giardia. Police at the scene confirmed the premises were in an unhygienic state, with numerous soiled items and dog faeces throughout, and a number of items on the floor that would be harmful to the puppy if she had ingested them. Lilly received medical treatment at RSPCA WA and has made a full recovery.
RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said a clean and safe environment was fundamental to an animal's welfare.
'This home was a dangerous environment for any pet but especially such a young puppy,' she said.
'The offender said he'd been gifted Lilly just a few days prior. To already be showing such blatant disregard for her health and wellbeing is hard to comprehend.
'The floor was littered with dog faeces and other harmful items, such as cigarette butts and alcohol. I'm so grateful to the police for alerting us to this situation, or the outcome could have been much worse for Lilly.'
The offender was sentenced under sections 19(1) and 19(3)(b)(ii) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002. He was convicted of being cruel to an animal in that Lilly was confined in a manner likely to cause unnecessary harm.
Ms Green thanked WA Police for their assistance with the case.
The RSPCA relies on the community to report incidents of suspected cruelty and neglect. Report cruelty 24/7 on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or at rspcawa.org.au
