The owner of a pit bull is facing charges of animal cruelty, obstruction and malicious damage to property after allegedly verbally abusing a Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) SPCA Inspector and damaging the organisation’s vehicle.
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In response to a complaint about a starving pit bull being kept on a short chain in Ocean View, Inspector Jeffrey Mfini from the CoGH SPCA was assigned to investigate the case.
On arrival he found a dog called “Lastag”, which means annoying.
“Moving forward, we will call the dog, Prince, because he is worth nothing less than royalty with his sweet and loving personality,” the organisation said in a statement.
“(Mfini) found Prince on a 1m chain. Prince could hardly move around and was found in an emaciated state. The owner had every excuse under the sun and made several promises to take the dog to a veterinarian and to let Prince roam freely inside the property. Sadly, this never happened.”
Due to the non-compliance of the owner, Mfini obtained a court order in terms of the Animals Protection Act, to confiscate Prince before returning to the property, escorted by members of the Ocean View SAPS.
“Even with a police escort, the owner was still obstructive and became very hostile towards (Mfini). (Mfini) was not going to be intimidated by the owner, walking onto the property and executing the court order, even with the owner trying to stop him.”
“While (Mfini) was busy cutting the chain with bolt cutters, all you could see was Prince wagging his tail – very excited that he was being rescued.”
With Prince safely in the back of the SPCA vehicle, Mfini issued the owner with a seizure notice.
“At this point, the owner got so angry that he punched the SPCA vehicle, causing damage to it. (Mfini) was also verbally abused.
“The owner will now be facing charges of animal cruelty, obstruction and malicious damage to property.”
The pit bull is now in the SPCA’s care, where he will be nurtured back into good health.
Members of the public have been urged to report any cases of animal cruelty to the SPCA Inspectorate by calling their 24-hour call centre on 021 700 4158/9 or 083 326 1604. Alternatively, email: [email protected]
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Picture: Supplied/ CoGH SPCA
