Couple avoid jail after pleading guilty to cutting off part of dog’s tail

A couple has avoided jail time and been banned from owning pets for two years after the “revenge tail docking” of their pet dog.

A 27-year-old man and 20-year-old woman were convicted after pleading guilty to cutting off part of their dog’s tail as a form of punishment.

The man was sentenced to a suspended jail term of eight months and 14 days, and the woman received a 12-month community-based order.

The Katanning Magistrates Court was told that the RSPCA attended the property after receiving a cruelty complaint in February from a person concerned about the dog.

The cruelty report was made after someone became concerned that the large tan and white mixed-breed dog, named Baw, had his tail docked after he had bitten a kitten.

Two vets determined that he had suffered a “traumatic tail amputation” that was not because of a surgical procedure, by accident, or self-trauma.

The RSPCA vet said that an instrument such as an axe, hedge trimmers or secateurs would have had to be used to cut cleanly through Baw‘s vertebra.

The male accused initially told an RSPCA inspector and shire ranger that Baw was “fine” and suggested that the report was made due to a neighbourhood dispute before they seized the dog.

‘This act was cruel, plain and simple, and it’s horrible to think how much pain Baw would have suffered,“ RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said.

‘It’s hard to imagine anyone thinking that cutting off their dog’s tail was an appropriate and effective way to teach him how to act around a kitten,’ Inspector Green said.

One of the vets said that the tail contains many nerves, making the incident extremely painful to Baw, who is recovering in the RSPCA‘s care.

The pair were also ordered to pay $626.87 in treatment and court costs