A 31-year-old woman from Girrawheen has been fined $4000 and given a spent conviction after leaving her two dogs in direct sunlight without access to shade or water on a 30C day.
Appearing recently in the Joondalup Magistrates Court, the offender avoided an order prohibiting her from being a person in charge of animals. The magistrate noted she was a generally good owner who had made a poor error of judgment on this particular occasion, according to the RSPCA.
A spent conviction, which means the offence will not be listed on her criminal record, was reportedly granted on the basis that the woman wants to work with animals in the future.
The incident occurred in November 2024 when RSPCA WA inspectors were called to a property following a cruelty report about a barking dog tethered to a clothesline in the backyard.
Inspectors said they arrived to find Mini, a tan-coloured staffy, tethered outside, and a pregnant black kelpie, Nunu, confined in a crate, both in direct sunlight with no access to shelter.
As the owner was not home, the inspectors entered the backyard due to suspected offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2002.
According to the RSPCA, the staffy appeared to be heat-distressed and had only 40cm of movement after her chain tether wrapped around the base of the clothesline several times, leaving her without access to shelter and unable to reach two water containers, both found to be empty.
The kelpie was confined in a wire crate positioned on top of brick pavers in full sun.
As the inspectors believed there was an imminent concern for their welfare, both dogs were seized from the property and transported to Perth Vet Emergency, where they said the dogs drank rapidly for more than a minute.
An examination at the vet found both dogs were dehydrated and showing mild signs of heat stress.
RSPCA WA said the woman told an inspector she was studying dog psychology and was training her dogs to be house dogs, and she did not leave out large amounts of water because they would urinate in the house if she brought them inside.
The 31-year-old was sentenced under four sections of the Animal Welfare Act 2002, including animal cruelty, failure to provide water, failure to provide shelter, and improper confinement or restraint.
She was also ordered to pay $4000 in costs.
RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said she believed it was likely the offender knew her dogs would run out of water or be unable to access it while they were restrained and confined in the backyard.
“It really concerns me that the offender made that conscious decision and put her dogs’ lives at risk,” Ms Green said.
“Mini and Nunu were in distress, and it breaks my heart even more to know Nunu was carrying six pups while going through that ordeal.”
The kelpie gave birth to her puppies while in the RSPCA’s care, and all have since been adopted. Sadly, the staffy was euthanised a year after she was seized.
In WA, the maximum penalty for a charge of animal cruelty is a $50,000 fine and five years imprisonment.
