Dog owner begs for leniency for the man who killed her pet
Lance Tengu drank “three beers for dutch courage”, and then struck a dog over the head to put it out of its misery.
But while one of the dog’s owners called for punishment, the other asked the Nelson District Court to spare the 72-year-old a prison sentence.
Tengu, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of wilfully ill treating an animal.
The police summary of facts said he’d been in sole care of the animal at his Motueka home on November 18, 2023. Taking a metal mallet, Tengu struck the 13-year-old huntaway-jack russell cross in the head. The dog lay injured in the back garden until family members returned.
Tengu admitted he had tried to kill the dog, and the family members rushed the pet to the vet, where it was euthanised.
Defence lawyer Mark Dollimore said the dog was “quite ill”, and suffered from diabetes and blindness.
There had been discussions about having the dog euthanised, and its owner – Tengu’s partner’s daughter – was saving for a cremation, he said.
On the day of the offending, visiting family had travelled with the dog from Christchurch. They dropped the pet, which was dehydrated from the journey, at Tengu’s home and went out again, Dollimore said.
When Tengu came home from work, he didn’t recognise the dog, which was disoriented and bumping into things in the garden, Dollimore said. “He dwelled on that, had three stubbies of beer for dutch courage” before striking the dog with a mallet.
Afterwards, he was “crestfallen”, he said. “He’s been a bit of a mess since.”
Judge Brian Callaghan said Tengu’s actions were “totally inappropriate and wrong”. He also cast doubt on Tengu’s assertion that he didn’t recognise the dog, “having seen it many times before”.
Judge Callaghan read letters from the dog’s owners. One was “devastated”, and had attempted suicide, the judge said. “He is wanting you punished for your cruelty to the beloved dog.”
However, the dog’s other owner, Tengu’s partner’s daughter, pleaded for a light sentence. “[Tengu] was not right at all but I can see he wanted to end my poor guy’s misery,” her letter said.
Tengu was an invaluable support for her mother, who was ill, she said. “I don’t want to see him going to prison ... I don’t want my Mum’s little family to be ripped apart. I’m begging for a lighter sentence for him.”
Sentencing Judge Callaghan sentenced Tengu to 150 hours of community work.