‘Filthy, emaciated, in pain’: WA pair found to have seriously neglected dog

A West Australian pair have been fined $2000 each and banned from owning an animal for six months after they seriously neglected their elderly dog. A 55-year-old man and 49-year-old woman faced the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday accused of leaving their japanese spitz, Bei Bei, unable to eat properly due to a growth on the pet’s tongue causing necrosis. The RSPCA received a cruelty report about a dog in the Perth suburb of Embleton “that appeared very unwell and was frothing at the mouth” in June 2023. “During her investigation, an RSPCA WA inspector observed Bei Bei was in a poor and underweight condition with blood-tinged saliva and pus dripping from his mouth. She noted his coat was extremely dirty, and he was lying on a mouldy dog bed,” the RSPCA said in a statement on Monday. The female owner allegedly told the inspector the dog was “just getting old”. On June 24, the dog was taken to a vet but the RSPCA said the owners did not follow vet advice to take the animal back to the vet in two or three days. Bei Bei was seized by the RSPCA inspector and taken to an emergency vet who found the dog’s “tongue was immobile due to the mass and necrosis and that he was severely emaciated with a body score of two out of nine” and a mass on the dog’s anus. Bei Bei died while receiving further treatment under general anaesthetic at the RSCPA in Malaga the next day. Magistrate Donna Webb said the pair showed “a complete misunderstanding and ignorance of what was happening to the animal and what the animal was going through”, according to the RSPCA. RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said “no animal should have to suffer like Bei Bei did”. “This was a lovely dog, relying on his owners to look after him in his old age,” she said. “To be left filthy, emaciated, in pain and unable to eat or even swallow his own saliva properly was cruel and I’m pleased the court has recognised that today.” The RSPCA said the pair were convicted under the Animal Welfare Act 2002 and “found to have been cruel to an animal in that they allowed Bei Bei to suffer harm which could have been alleviated by taking reasonable steps”. The maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison. The RSPCA urges the community to report suspected incidents of animal neglect to 1300 Cruelty.