A good dog
I’m not some sort of psychopath who goes around shooting animals. We’re not nasty people, and we don’t like seeing animals suffer. DANIEL BURTON
You don’t call an animal a member of your family and shoot him in the head.’ GAYLENE CRAYFORD, LEFT
houses in the suburb of Wainoni.
In late September or early October, inspectors, accompanied by police, arrived and exhumed Mac to carry out a postmortem as part of the investigation.
Burton claimed they also dug up his recently buried cat, which was killed by a car. He described it as an invasion of privacy, adding Kennedy felt victimised by the process.
Her other dog, Eme, was also taken by the SPCA. It was desexed and had a number of teeth removed but was yet to be returned, Burton said.
The SPCA said the investigation was still ongoing but chief executive Andrea Midgen said she was aware of only a handful of exhumations this year as part of an investigation. It was a last resort and done only when inspectors needed evidence to corroborate allegations of abuse or neglect, she said.
Mac’s body had yet to be returned.
Speaking generally, Midgen said if charges were laid under the Animal Welfare Act and a case went to court, an animal’s body could be held until the end of the court case.