Media Release
18 June 2015

Auckland woman fined and disqualified for prolonged ill-treatment of dog

An Auckland woman has been disqualified from owning pets for 10 years and ordered to pay a fine after pleading guilty of recklessly ill-treating a dog leading to such an extent it led to him being euthanised.

Ngai Wan Virginia Chan was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on June 16, following the case involving an 11 year old dog named Jai Jai found in a severely impaired state at Chan’s home. As a result, she has been ordered to pay a fine of $3846.03 and also received a 10 year disqualification order from owning pets.

This brings to close a case that began when an SPCA Inspector visited the Mt Roskill property in December 2013 following a notification from NZ Police. The Inspector found two dogs, one healthy, but the other Jai Jai, a Bichon Frise was suffering from severe eye and skin infections. Both dogs belonged to Chan.

The Court found that Chan ill-treated Jai Jai resulting in the left eye being very swollen, full of pus and almost completely sealed shut. The right eye had thick discharge coming out, the cornea of his eye appeared cloudy, damaged and both eyes where surrounded by thick, black crust. Jai Jai was also suffering from some form of skin issue which had caused very odorous, oily secretions and fur loss over most of its body and would have been in severe discomfort for months prior to him being euthanised.

After hearing evidence from a number of experts, the Court noted that any reasonable dog owner would have done more to care for Jai Jai, and the dog’s condition would have been obvious even for an untrained person to see he needed prompt veterinary attention and treatment. Chan knowingly failed to insure Jai Jai received treatment so as to alleviate his pain and distress.

The Judge’s decision stated that Chan’s obvious neglect, failure to care and treat Jai Jai accordingly was reckless.

“According to expert evidence, Jai Jai suffered from severe conditions that could have been easily prevented or fixed if treated properly,” says Bob Kerridge, SPCA Auckland Executive Director. “He was found with ailments including serious dental and gum disease, severely matted fur in the areas he had hair, eye and skin infections causing pain and suffering for a prolonged period of time.

“This is a very sad case of obvious animal neglect and the SPCA's view is that the dog owner should have acted before Jai Jai’s health got to this dreadful state where, sadly treatment was no longer an option for him. The sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of this neglect ensuring that Chan is prohibited from owning animals for a considerable period of time.

“The outcome could have been very different with proper veterinary care. Providing this sort of care is the total responsibility of the owner and SPCA fails to understand why this has been withheld for Jai Jai.”

Mr Kerridge thanked the dedicated Inspector who has worked to achieve this sentence.

ENDS

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