A DEFENCELESS, five-year-old shar-pei dog, no more than 50cm tall, was brutally slain in a suburban backyard and discovered by a nine-year-old boy.
Family pet Maggie was left slumped in a pool of blood in Shiel Way in Hamersley, the result of an attack that has horrified the RSPCA.
Community has obtained a picture of the aftermath – a beloved family pet with two puncture wounds to her neck, a broken and stabbed rear leg, and huge chunks of fur missing from her torso.
It appears the killers used weapons to inflict the wounds, sometime between Saturday morning of March 10 and the afternoon of the following day.
RSPCA spokesman Tim Mayne confirmed the agency was investigating the incident and said those culpable faced stiff penalties.
“There is every indication that this is a horrible case of cruelty… a callous, deliberate act.”
Maggie’s previous owners, Janet and Martin Gillespie, are fly-in, fly-out workers at BHP’s nickel mine in Leinster. They work two weeks on, one week off and three months ago reluctantly decided to adopt out their beloved pet to friends so the dog could be better looked after.
New owners Scott and Lily Preston were away that weekend and had dropped the dog off at the home of Amanda Gillespie, the daughter of Janet and Martin.
Mr Preston said his young son Cameron made the chilling find when he went to pick up the dog on Sunday (March 11) about 5.30pm.
He said his son was “was a bit scarred” from the ordeal, but it had traumatised his wife Lily the most. So much so she was unable to go to work for two days.
Mr Preston said should the perpetrators be caught, they should be heavily fined, as well as named and shamed.
“The public should be made aware of who these animals are. There should be some sort of criminal charges.”
He said although Maggie had only been with them for a few months, she was a much-loved family member.
“We had her for a week on a trial basis and we fell in love with her,” he said.
A distraught Mrs Gillespie told the Stirling Times that she had concerns for what the offenders were capable of. “They’re ill; they need help,” she said.
“It’s too horrific… to inflict such cruelty on something so defenceless. What are they going to do next – hurt somebody? Is this how serial killers start off?”
“I pray that it was a quick death; that the puncture in her neck killed her (first),” Mrs Gillespie said.
The penalties under the Animal Welfare Act for such a crime are a fine of $50,000 and five years’ jail if convicted.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the RSPCA on 1300 278 3589.