A dog suffering from a respiratory infection had to be put down after she was found emaciated and covered in fleas. The dog also had a hard time standing on her own.
Bella’s owner was charged with ill-treating of the female Staffordshire bull terrier cross.
Last year, the SPCA discovered that the poor dog was in an emaciated body condition.
A vet found out that Bella suffered from a respiratory infection and her owner couldn’t care less and didn’t even treat her. Also, there were abnormal lung sounds and proof that she coughed up blood.
Bella was abnormally thin and very weak so she couldn’t stand on her own. On top of that, she was covered in fleas.
A second vet confirmed that Bella was emaciated. He also said the dog was very dehydrated and even had tartar-teeth. Her nails were excessively overgrown and she had a grade 4 heart murmur.
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Both vets agreed Bella was under stress and suffering because she was untreated for a long time.
Bella’s necropsy revealed that she was suffering from Cushing’s disease and had significant skeletal muscle wasting. She also had pneumonia.
Unfortunately, Bella had a lot of health problems and suffered a lot during her final months. Even though her owner was responsible to seek veterinary care, she didn’t.
Bella’s owner Melissa McIntyre didn’t take good care of her dog, so that really complicated her health problems.
The Auckland District Court sentenced her to 6 months’ supervision and banned her from owning dogs in the next 5 years. She also had to pay a fine of $1207 in reparations to the SPCA.
During the interview, Melissa said she noticed that her dog lost a lot of weight 6 months earlier and gave her more food and even de-wormed her. However, Bella looked a lot worse in the last two months because she lost even more weight.
Melissa defended herself by saying that she wanted to take Bella to the vet, but she couldn’t afford it. She had to surrender Bella’s ownership during the investigation.
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