Durban - A man has been arrested for beating his dog to death with a wooden pole before burying it in a shallow grave in his back yard.
His neighbour witnessed the horror incident in Ismoi Road, KwaDabeka, Durban.
SPCA Kloof inspector Cheri Cooke said the distressed neighbour called the after-hours emergency line on Saturday for help. A man, 28, was arrested on Tuesday by police.
SPCA Inspector Petros Simamane went to the home to question the man.
“Witnesses pointed to a black plastic bag in the yard. The man had buried the dog and covered it with sand and a plastic packet,” Cooke said.
Simamane recovered the body of the female black and white AfriCanis from the shallow grave. She was about a year old. Cooke said a veterinarian report stated that the dog had suffered from blows to the head, which resulted in afractured skull.
The dog had bruises and open wounds on its body, liver damage and internal bleeding. Cooke said there was a huge open wound above the dog’s eye.
“The individual responsible for brutally killing this helpless creature gave no reason for committing this crime – except to say that he was under the influence of alcohol,” Cooke said.
She said she was concerned about the delay in the man’s arrest – he was arrested on Tuesday by KwaDabeka police – but was hopeful that justice would be served.
A case had been opened and the accused would be prosecuted in terms of the Animals Protection Act, said police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane. He will appear in Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Daily News