Warning: This article contains content that might upset readers.
A complaint was made to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA about a dog in Lansdowne that had been bitten in the face by another dog and whose owner was refusing to get the dog the medical care it needed.
Also read: Content warning: Euthanised baboon shot more than a dozen times
When SPCA Inspector Mark Syce arrived at the property, he was shown a male dog named Buster who had wounds on and around his face consistent with bite wounds (or some other traumatic event) and was in desperate need of veterinary treatment.
The dog’s owner, who was not home at the time, was issued a warning to get the dog to a vet within the next 24 hours and that a veterinary report must be forwarded to the SPCA as confirmation that the dog had been treated.
The inspector went back to the property two days later to see if the dog had been taken to the vet as ordered. The dog’s owner wasn’t home, and even though the landlord let Inspector Syce into the house, he couldn’t see the dog because it was locked inside.
A second warning was given, saying that the dog had to be taken to a vet within 24 hours to be checked out and treated, and that a full report on the dog’s health had to be sent to the SPCA.
The next day, SPCA Inspector Jeffery Mfini paid a visit to the property to check on the dog’s health. When Inspector Mfini saw that the dog’s owner wasn’t at home, he called the dog’s owner’s brother. The dog’s owner’s brother told Inspector Mfini that the dog hadn’t been treated yet.
Inspector Mfini issued a third warning.
The following afternoon, Inspector Syce returned to the property to conduct a follow-up inspection.
Buster’s owner was at home this time. When our inspector asked to see the dog, the owner stated that it was not currently on the property, insisting that “the dog must be roaming the streets” because another tenant on the property had left the front gate open.
The owner, however, was able to confirm that he had not yet taken his dog to a vet for treatment. The owner was then given a “Final Warning” that told him to take his dog to a vet within 18 hours and provide the SPCA with a report from the vet.
The next day, Inspector Mark Syce returned to the Lansdowne property, this time presenting the owner with a court order authorising the SPCA to remove Buster and citing the owner for failing to take his dog to a veterinarian for treatment as ordered six days prior.
Even though the owner drove away before the inspector could issue the seizure notice, Buster was finally able to receive medical treatment for his facial wounds at the Cape of Good Hope SPCA in Grassy Park.
The attending SPCA vets were horrified that the dog had been denied treatment for so long and had suffered severe pain for at least a week.
The SPCA will file charges of animal cruelty against the dog’s owner under Section 2(1)(a), (e), (q), and (r) of the Animals Protection Act (71 of 1962).
Also read:
SPCA officers make arrests after investigating cat-throwing incident
Picture: Cape of Good Hope SPCA