A Tauranga man has been jailed for neglecting his dogs, which were found emaciated and chained up in his backyard.
Tank was found chained to a carport post. Photo: Supplied
Yesterday, 24-year-old Louis Delves was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court to four-and-a-half months in prison.
He had pleaded guilty to four animal welfare charges over the neglect of his two Staffordshire bull terriers, Tank and Sass.
SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen said when the dogs were found in June last year, they had lost over 40 percent of their body weight and were infected with intestinal worms and fleas.
"It's horrendous," she said.
"How can any person let an animal get into that condition?"
Mr Delves has been ordered to pay $455.78 in reparations and contribute $250 towards legal costs.
He was also disqualified from owning or having authority of dogs for three years.
Sass was found malnourished with unclean wounds on her ears. Photo: Supplied
Ms Midgen said the SPCA was notified of the case after it received an animal welfare complaint on 13 June last year.
An SPCA Inspector found Tank chained to a carport post and Sass curled up in a kennel run.
Ms Midgen said the dogs were nurtured back to full health by the SPCA and both had been adopted by loving families.
Ms Midgen said the SPCA received between 14,000 and 15,000 animal welfare complaints each year.
She urged anyone who was concerned for the welfare of an animal to contact the SPCA.