A local Isabella Plains man, Bryan Bell has plead guilty and been sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court for abusing and failing to provide shelter for two dogs
RSPCA ACT Inspectors attended a house in Isabella Plains after a complaint relating to the condition of two dogs. At the time it was raining heavily, cold and windy when Inspectors sighted a female Pitbull named Honey and a male Pitbull named Hank tethered by a wire to the clothesline with no shelter and surrounded by faeces.
Inspectors spoke with a member of the public who said that they had witnessed Mr Bell punching and hitting the dogs with the hard end of the broom. The individual also stated that the dogs had been tied to the clothesline for the past 6-12 month.
Whilst at the scene Inspectors sighted Mr Bell on three occasions in the backyard holding a broom. As Mr Bell moved towards Honey and Hank, the dogs began to cower and move away. Inspectors spoke with Mr Bell regarding the complaint. When asked how many times he would have hit the dog Mr Bell stated, “About three or four times to quieten them down.” A decision was made by Inspectors to seize Honey and Hank.
A veterinary report showed that Honey was thin, had calluses on her legs and a graze on her right paw. Honey’s eyes were also irritated and red. Hank was seen to have raw open sores on his ears, abrasions over his belly and his scrotum was chapped, grazed with flaky scabbing. The tip of his tail had lost a great deal of hair due to vigorous wagging against a hard object. His collar was dirty and extremely tight causing a rash.
Bell was sentenced and received a 12 month good behaviour order for not providing adequate shelter, 1 month imprisonment in relation to the cruelty offence that was suspended upon entering a 12 month good behaviour order and a 10 year animal ban.
Senior Inspector Catherine Croatto was at the scene and shared her thoughts, “Abuse cases are often harder to prove because you usually need eyewitnesses that are brave enough to do something. When I arrived at the scene, I could see the two dogs from the other side of the fence. It’s hard to know all that they have been through, but the obvious fear in their eyes and body language when the owner approached with an object in his hand said more than enough.”
Hank and Honey have since found new homes through RSPCA ACT.