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A 22-year-old dog groomer left a Maltese under her care unattended for seven minutes as she went to take a smoke break. When she came back, the dog had slipped off the grooming table and was found dead hanging by its own leash.

Boon Regine Vienna pleaded guilty on Wednesday (May 3) to one charge related to causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the animal.

She was fined S$8,000 and was disqualified from running any animal-related business for nine months.

Background information

In court documents seen by Mothership, it was stated that Boon was working as a pet groomer at the Raku Inu pet shop along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

On Nov. 9 at around 2pm, the dog owner had left the Maltese at the pet shop for a grooming session.

Boon then brought the dog to the grooming table and secured it with a short leash around its neck.

While grooming the dog, she stepped out to take a smoke break.

Before going outside, she observed that the dog "did not seem active" and made no attempts to secure or restrain it in a safer position. Instead, she left the dog unattended on the grooming table.

The dog subsequently slipped off the edge as it was trying to lie down on the grooming table.

The dog was leashed only by its neck to the grooming table and the leash was not long enough to reach the ground.

The dog died from being hung by the leash in mid-air for an extended period of time.

When Boon returned minutes later, she found the dog motionless.

She called her colleague for assistance and brought the dog to a veterinary clinic for resuscitation but it was unsuccessful.

Deeply regrets her poor judgement

National Parks Board's prosecutor Desmond Lua said that Boon had a high degree of culpability.

He said that she had taken a calculated risk that led to the dog's death when she left for her break.

However, Boon's lawyer, Vinodh Visvanathan of Hin Tat Augustine and Partners law firm said that his client did not make a "conscious decision to take a risk on the life on an animal," TODAY reported.

Vinodh said that Boon had made a "poor judgement on the safety aspect of the situation, which she deeply regrets."

He shared that his client had a deep passion for pet grooming, and has done the profession for four years. She aims to make a career for herself eventually, and intends to enrol herself in a grooming course to improve herself.

Boon had contacted the owner of the dog after the incident and apologised. The owner accepted the apology.

She offered to compensate the owner for the loss, but was told by her employer that the firm would offer a compensation of S$20,000 instead.

District Judge Lorraine Ho said in court that she hoped that Boon will take the time to "upskill and upgrade herself" so that she could "return to this pet industry confidently."

Anyone found guilty of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal can be jailed for up to two years or fined up to S$40,000, or both.

Top photo via NParks