A woman in Auckland, New Zealand, was sentenced to two months in jail after her overweight dog died in December 2021.
According to the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA New Zealand), on Jul. 24, authorities seized the woman's dogs, including Nuggi, who died, from her house after police conducted a search warrant in October 2021.
Overfed and "suffering"
SPCA New Zealand said Nuggi was 53.7kg and had difficulty moving around.
During the seizure, authorities said that he had breathing problems and needed to stop three times to catch his breath while walking from the house to the car.
His legs also appeared to be collapsing under his weight.
His heart could not be heard using a stethoscope during a veterinarian check-up as the sound couldn’t "penetrate the fat", SPCA New Zealand said.
He also had overgrown nails and skin tags on his stomach and elbows.
On top of that, Nuggi was also diagnosed with conjunctivitis.
She added that he also struggled with warm weather and was generally experiencing fatigue, noting that he might have felt severely uncomfortable and distressed for a long time.
Fed as many as 10 pieces of chicken every day
SPCA New Zealand Chief Executive Todd Westwood said Nuggi's condition was a "huge shock" to the organisation.
He said staff members are accustomed to working with underweight, starved or malnourished animals but find it "equally heartbreaking" to encounter a severely overfed one like Nuggi.
His owner told SPCA officers that she had fed him up to 10 pieces of chicken daily, along with additional dog biscuits.
She claimed she made him exercise by walking him or spending time outdoors.
Westwood said that part of being a responsible dog owner is ensuring an appropriate diet and daily exercise, which had not been the case for Nuggi.
"Nuggi was being drastically overfed, and instead of seeking help or amending the behaviour, his owner continued to overfeed him until he could barely walk. This is unacceptable."
Lost weight but died from ruptured liver
Nuggi had been cared for by SPCA New Zealand for around two months following the search in October 2021.
He managed to lose 8.9kg, which was around 16.5 per cent of his body weight but died from an acute haemorrhage following a ruptured mass on his liver.
He was also revealed to have liver disease and Cushing’s disease in an autopsy.
His owner had also been ordered to pay NZ$1,222 (S$970) in reparations and disqualified from owning dogs for 12 months.
Top photo by SPCA New Zealand
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