A MOUNT Gambier/Berrin woman has been convicted for failing to provide adequate and appropriate food to her two dogs.
Taylor Askew, 28, was convicted in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court earlier this week after surrendering her two dogs to RSPCA South Australia inspectors last September.
Askew pleaded guilty to both counts with Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos ordering the defendant enter a 12-month good behaviour bond and be prohibited from owning or having custody of any animals until further order.
Askew was also ordered to pay vet costs to the RSPCA of $497 and legal costs of $358.
Inspectors re-attended Askew’s Mount Gambier property under a warrant on September 6 last year after already issuing her with Animal Welfare Notices.
The notices required Askew to feed her dogs three times a day in order to improve their body condition.
Upon their re-attendance, inspectors found both dogs in extremely emaciated conditions and without access to water.
The dogs were taken to a local veterinary clinic and were assessed by the attending vet as having body condition scores of one out of nine.
On the body condition score, numbers between one to three is classified as underweight, numbers four to six is ideal and numbers six to nine is overweight.
A one-year-old male Staffordshire Terrier-cross named King weighed nine kilograms and a ten-month-old Staffordshire Terrier-cross named Rex weighed 16 kilograms.
King’s ideal body weight should have been 19 kilograms and Rex’s should have been 23 kilograms.
Upon a check-up in October and after a strict feeding regime, King weighed 14.6 kilograms, representing a 62 per cent weight gain.
Rex weighed 19.4 kilograms, representing a 21 per cent improvement.
Askew admitted to inspectors she knew King should have seen a vet given his weight loss.
Since being taken away, King had made a full recovery and was rehomed in January this year.
The behaviours of Rex could not be modified despite months of work with the RSPCA’s dog-care team.
According to the RSPCA, Rex continued to “pose a risk to public safety“ and was humanely euthanised.
RSPCA South Australia inspector Stuart Thomas said the psychological impact of chronic neglect such as starvation was not always understood.
“When we take in dogs like King and Rex, who have been starved for so long, it takes time to bring them up to their ideal weight, but we usually get there in the end,” Mr Thomas said.
“What our skilled dog and vet teams can’t always turn around is the reactive, dangerous behaviour of dogs that have become accustomed to fighting to survive.
“As a responsible rehoming organisation, we cannot release any dog into the community that has been assessed by our expert teams as being a risk to public safety, and that is sadly what Rex had become.
“Once again, we urge people to act before any animal in their care deteriorates – find them a new home, seek help from friends and family or rescue
organisations, but don’t just turn a blind eye while your animal becomes skin and bones.”
