Man abandoned sick dog in park
A TOOWOOMBA man who failed to get treatment for an ailing dog which he ultimately abandoned in a city park has been ordered to do 200 hours community service and pay costs of more than $3500.
Robert Arthur Brown, 55, had been given the Bull Arab cross “Nitro” by a previous owner who was working away from Toowoomba and couldn’t take the dog.
Soon after receiving Nitro in December 2016, the dog’s health began to deteriorate, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.
Solicitor Chris Lumme, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, told the court that Brown had, late on the night of February 10, taken the ailing dog to a Jack St park where he left it abandoned.
The emaciated dog was found the next day and taken to a Toowoomba veterinary clinic where it was found to be suffering stomach problems, had severe flea burden and was dehydrated and depressed.
Nitro was assessed as being five on a scale of one
to five where one was adequate and five was “terrible”, Mr Lumme said.
The veterinarian found the dog’s emaciated condition was probably due to a combination of starvation and a “possible gastro intestinal issue involving blockage”.
On February 17, Nitro was operated on but, unfortunately, he suffered cardiac arrest during surgery and died, Mr Lumme said.
When initially spoken to by RSPCA inspectors, Brown denied any knowledge of Nitro or that he ever had the dog in his care.
However, he later approached inspectors
admitting he had had Nitro at his home but that the dog was thin when he got him and was vomiting and would not put on weight.
Brown said he had tried to worm the dog but did not take Nitro to a vet as he couldn’t afford it.
He admitted dropping the dog off at a park as the family had planned having a birthday party for one of his children the next day and he hadn’t wanted anyone to see the dog, Mr Lumme said.
Brown, a disability pensioner, pleaded guilty to breaching a duty of care to an animal in not taking steps to have the dog treated and to abandoning the dog.
He also pleaded guilty to
unrelated relatively minor drug offences and to a common assault.
Magistrate Graham Lee noted the maximum penalty under the Animal Care and Protection Act was 300
penalty units ($37,800) or 12 months jail.
However, taking into account his pleas of guilty, Mr Lee ordered Brown do 200 hours of unpaid community service, ordered
he pay costs of $3596 and be prohibited from having any animal for three years.
On the unrelated matters, Brown was placed on 12 months probation and fined $300.