Woman in New Zealand jailed for overfeeding pet dog to death
A court in New Zealand has sentenced a woman to two months’ jail for overfeeding her pet dog to death.
The dog, named Nuggi, weighed 53.7kg when it was rescued in October 2021 – having been fed by its former owner eight to 10 pieces of chicken a day, on top of dog biscuits.
It was so obese it was not possible to hear its heartbeat with a stethoscope because of all the fat.
The Manukau district court in South Auckland sentenced Nuggi’s owner to two months in jail and ordered her to pay a fine of NZ$1,222.15 (S$975), according to a July 24 statement from the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
She was also barred from owning dogs for a year.
Neither the owner’s name nor Nuggi’s age were mentioned in the statement.
“Nuggi was being drastically overfed and, instead of seeking help or amending the behaviour, his owner continued to overfeed him until he could barely walk. This is unacceptable,” said Mr Todd Westwood, chief executive of the SPCA.
When Nuggi was taken by SPCA officers, it had to pause three times to catch its breath walking just 10m from where it was being kept to the rescue car.
Its legs appeared to be collapsing under the weight of its enormous body, the rescuers said.
Its nails were overgrown. It had wounds on its belly and elbows, and it had conjunctivitis.
Nuggi spent around two months at an SPCA-run animal shelter, where it lost 8.9kg.
But it died suddenly despite losing this much weight due to an acute haemorrhage from a ruptured mass on its liver.
A necropsy revealed further health complications, including liver disease and Cushing’s disease.
“Nuggi was easily one of the most obese animals we’ve ever encountered. He was so enormous that he could hardly walk, and he was clearly suffering as a result of the significant amount of weight he was carrying,” said Mr Westwood.
“Sadly, we see animals on a daily basis that are underweight, starved or malnourished,” he added. “But it’s equally heartbreaking to see a helpless animal that’s been severely overfed.”
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now