Tragedy strikes adopted dog Taz
Severely injured pet ‘found on the side of the road’
ATaz was covered in mud and . . . skinny when we saw her Portia Benson
“beautiful sweet little dog” sent for rehoming by its Waihi owner was allegedly dragged behind a car, causing serious injuries to all of its legs and leaving it in severe pain, its owner says.
Portia Benson said she reluctantly gave Taz, a 7-month-old whippet cross, up for rehoming on Monday after what she describes as “unforeseen circumstances”.
Benson said a man from Waihi Beach came to meet Taz.
“We knew him via friends and asked him to meet Taz prior [to collecting]. He then took Taz the following day.”
After Benson saw a Facebook post on a Waihi community page about a pup being “hit by a car”, she was alarmed to find Taz was the dog concerned.
After rushing to the local vet clinic on Wednesday morning, Benson was advised that Taz had been brought in by the same man whom she had given Taz to for rehoming.
Benson said a man told the vet he had “found her on the side of the road” and that he “hoped the owners would come forward for her”, she said.
The man who collected Taz was approached via phone but did not reply to inquiries.
Taz’s injuries were significant, and according to the vet who attended to Taz, her injuries were consistent with being dragged behind a car, but that was only one possibility.
The vet would not rule out an accidental fall from the deck of a ute while tethered or the possibility the animal had been struck by a car.
“She had no other injuries which would indicate she was not hit by a car as he had stated to the vets,” Benson said.
“Taz was covered in mud and dirt and very, very skinny when we saw her, and it was within 24 hours that all of this happened to her, ” said Benson. The dog is now back at her original home with “some very upset kiddies”, according to Benson, who said she feels the man responsible “should be contacting me to explain themselves and why they have done this horrible thing to our sweet girl”.
Taz was now “getting some well needed bed rest.”
Benson said she made a report to police and Animal Welfare regarding the incident.
On its website, the SPCA states that it received thousands of reports last year concerning animal welfare and attended more than 13,700 call-outs.
It advises contacting them immediately should you have concerns about the neglect or cruelty of an animal.
All reports are treated in confidence, and if deemed necessary, an animal welfare inspector may be dispatched.
The Animal Welfare Act 1999 defines ill-treatment of an animal as: “Causing the animal to suffer, by any act or omission, pain or distress that in its kind or degree, or in its object, or in the circumstances in which it is inflicted, is unreasonable or unnecessary.”