Dog strangled by neighbour

A woman admitted strangling a dog to death, alleging the animal had attacked her. A resident on a smallholding near the Garden Route Mall call received the upsetting call on his birthday, Thursday 2 November, informing him that his neighbour, a 30-year-old woman, had killed his beloved Staffordshire cross jack russell with a piece of wire.

Senior Inspector of the SPCA Salome Bruyns was livid when she told the George Herald about the incident. She received a call on the SPCA emergency number from the dog's owner saying his dog had been 'murdered'. Bruyns found the dead dog tied to a water pump with the piece of wire still around its neck. Bruyns does not buy the excuse of an attack.

"What angered me was that she only had scratch marks on her arms, no bite wounds. I can't understand why she never phoned the SPCA if she had a problem with her neighbour's dog," said Bruyns. "To strangle a dog is extremely cruel - we estimate it takes about five minutes for a dog to die from throttling. She admitted to me in front of the police that she strangled the dog."

SPCA voluntary vet Dr Monica Olivier's post mortem states that the dog suffered grievous bodily harm by direct trauma as well as being suffocated while it was still alive. "The person responsible for these actions should be prosecuted by the law,” she said

Police communications officer Const Rachel Hendriks confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property has been opened. "The suspect in this case has not yet been arrested as the case is still under investigation."

Bruyns said the woman must be charged under the Animal Protection Act. "No one has the right to just kill an animal."