Impaled pet may have misjudged jump
February 1st, 2008 Posted in Pet PicturesThe black female labrador, Keira, was cut from the fence on Thursday by firefighters in Bendigo East using the jaws of life, and two steel stakes were removed during surgery at a veterinary clinic. Keira was found by a woman in Jennings Street after hearing her howling at about 12.15am (2.15am NZT) on Thursday. Bendigo police believe it may have been an act of cruelty and urged any witnesses to come forward. But Keira’s owner, Brendan Stevenson, said the labrador was an habitual jumper and had escaped from her yard with another dog. “She possibly could have attempted to jump and made a mistake. . ..I’d very much like to think it’s an accident on her part (rather) than a malicious act from someone else,” he told ABC radio. Co-owner Shelley Haigh told Network Ten she too wanted to believe Keira had misjudged a jump. “We hope that’s what happened,” Ms Haigh said. Eaglehawk Road Veterinary Clinic vet Dr Raquel Stoll said it was “disgusting” to think that someone might have deliberately impaled the dog, but acknowledged it was possibly an accident. “Dogs can occasionally do that to themselves and they can jump surprisingly high as well,” she said. “If it is (deliberate), it’s just disgusting that somebody could be involved in that.” Dr Stoll said the metal stakes had penetrated about 10cm, between Keira’s hind legs and abdomen. She said although Keira was bright and happy, it was not yet clear whether she would ever walk again. “We can’t say she’s definitely going to be able to walk, but she can move herself around and I’m sure there’s a lot of trauma to those muscles, so it will just take a bit of time,” she said. RSPCA Victoria president Dr Hugh Wirth said deliberate animal cruelty was on the rise in Victoria. He said the Victorian government was pushing through legislation to double the fines for animal cruelty from $A6000 ($NZ6808) and/or jail for injuring an animal, and $A12,000 and/or jail for killing or permanently maiming an animal.
Tags: animal cruelty, bet, dogs, firefighter, firefighters, labrador, lear, Pet, rspca, spca, vet, veterinary clinicRelated posts
Tags: animal cruelty, bet, dogs, firefighter, firefighters, labrador, lear, Pet, rspca, spca, vet, veterinary clinic
