Cape Town - A dog owner’s girlfriend made R1 000 bail in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court after being arrested for allegedly taping a dog inside a plastic bag and placing it as collectable waste for the City’s employees to pick up in Pelican Park.
The City’s employees made the horrific discovery as they were emptying a waste bag into their collection truck last Thursday. The dog was still alive.
The employees took immediate action to save the animal from potential harm from the truck machinery.
The Cape of the Good Hope SPCA said the animal was found in a severe state, with its legs bound together and face taped shut.
The critical condition of the dog showed clear signs of intentional abuse, as it bore multiple injuries and bruises.
Th SPCA said in a statement: “Upon discovery, a concerned neighbour came forward to help the officials identify the dog’s residence. At the residence, the accused individual took the dog back, pretending ignorance about the incident and pretending to show concern for the dog and his injuries.
“The dog’s owner, on learning about the event from neighbours, sought CCTV footage from a business across from his residence.
“The footage revealed the horrifying truth. The girlfriend, now identified as the main accused, was seen throwing the already bound dog into the refuse bin. She returned later, brutally beating the dog for over an hour with the blunt end of a wooden pole”.
SPCA’s Dr Ramnanan said: “The nature of the injuries suggests blunt force trauma. The force required to cause such a fracture is substantial.”
The accused confessed to her actions, justifying her cruelty as irritation with the dog, further inflamed when scolded by her partner when she tried to reprimand the dog, the SPCA said.
She was arrested and taken to Grassy Park police station. Charges of animal cruelty have been laid against her in terms of the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 for the appalling torture of the dog.
Scruffy is under the care of Cape of Good Hope SPCA Animal Hospital.