Beneficiary gets jail for 'dog tragedy'

A Far North man who allowed his emaciated nine-year-old pet bulldog to go untreated for eight weeks as it dragged itself around with a broken spine has been jailed for four months.

Sickness beneficiary David John Simpkin was granted leave to apply for home detention by Judge J. L. Rota when he appeared in the Kaitaia District Court yesterday. Simpkin, of Waiotehue, 30km south of Kaitaia, had earlier admitted an Animal Welfare Act charge of wilfully ill-treating his American-type bulldog between March 26 and May 21 this year.

The dog, Mack, was found highly distressed by an SPCA inspector on Simpkin's rural property with its rear part at a twisted angle and wasted to emaciation.

The animal was promptly put down and a post mortem confirmed Mack's spine was most likely crushed.

Yesterday, counsel Simon Punshon produced a letter written by Simpkin to the Court in which the defendant expressed remorse for what had happened to the dog.

Simpkin had also paid the SPCA $225 for costs and expenses and had offered to undertake voluntary work for the organisation, Mr Punshon said.

The defendant had not initially realised the extent of his pet's injuries after finding it injured in a swamp, but had not considered taking the dog to a vet because of the cost and his lack of faith in vets.

Judge Rota said SPCA photographs depicted "a graphic tragedy for this dog." However, the sentence would be based on Simpkin's degree of culpability, rather than on "a sense of outrage" from the photos.

The judge said he accepted Simpkin's degree of remorse written to the Court in reasonably sincere terms.

Simpkin also wrote that he would not do it again "and I don't think he will," the judge said.