Archive for the ‘Peter Alexander Thomas – Dog cruelty case shock’ Category
ANIMAL lovers are “disgusted and heartbroken” by a magistrate’s decision to overturn a cruelty conviction against a man accused of starving his dog to death.
Last year, Carlton man Peter Alexander Thomas, 50, was found guilty of causing the death of his border collie, Wags, who was found severely emaciated in 2009.
When RSPCA inspectors found Wags after a tip-off, the dog’s spine, ribs and pelvis were protruding, he was dehydrated, his eyes were sunken and oozing and his kidneys were failing.
He was was unable to bear his own weight and was put down by a vet.
Mr Thomas’s conviction has now been set aside, with Magistrate Cath Rheinberger finding Wags was elderly and sick, possibly with cancer and even veterinary care would not have saved him.
Dogs’ Homes of Tasmania president John Gray said he was still trying to come to terms with the decision to dismiss the charge.
“We are disgusted,” Mr Gray said last night.
“I’m still trying to come to grips with it. I’m heartbroken.
“Regardless of whether the dog had cancer, the dog would not get to that scale [of suffering] overnight, Wags must’ve been suffering for a long, long time.”
The RSPCA had appealed against what it called the inadequacy of the original $432 fine handed to Mr Thomas before he had his conviction quashed.
Chief executive Ben Sturges said the court decision was disappointing, particularly given the apparent lack of vet care sought for Wags by Mr Thomas.
“You wouldn’t let your child get to that state would you?” he said.
Mr Gray said he believed the Tasmanian public would be dismayed by this week’s court decision.
“You can just imagine what the little fella was going through can’t you?” he said.
Meanwhile, a review of Tasmania’s animal welfare legislation is under way.
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/01/12/291751_tasmania-news.html
