From starved family pets to a man who cut the head off a dog, here are SA’s shocking pet owners
Caring for a pet is often a big responsibility – but mistreating animals is a crime. Here are some of the state’s most shocking pet owners. Warning: Graphic content.
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Many people don’t understand how big a commitment it is to have a pet – which sadly, has led to some shocking cases of animal cruelty.
Carolyn Jones, a spokeswoman from the RSPCA, said research into specific breeds was a must for anyone looking to welcome a pet into their home.
“Anyone who is considering taking on responsibility for an animal’s welfare should investigate what’s required for that particular animal,” Ms Jones said.
“Regular veterinary check-ups, vaccinations and prompt veterinary attention when an animal is ill or injured are all essential for good welfare.
“It’s alarming the number of people who seem to understand their own need for medical care, but totally ignore their animals’ need for medical care.”
Mistreating animals is a crime – and this is a list of South Australia’s worst pet owners who have faced court.
Tatiana Woloszczuk
A St Agnes doctor who once had around 50 cats at her “uninhabitable” property has been barred from owning pets indefinitely
Tatiana Woloszczuk, 61, appeared in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on March 12, 2021, charged with several counts of the mistreatment of three cats.
She pleaded guilty to the ill-treatment of a cat called Kira, which suffered from skin scalding due to a urine leakage and was “morbidly obese”.
She also failed to provide adequate living conditions for Kira, Mischief and Dion between May 8 and August 8, 2019.
Magistrate Terence Forrest said the accused’s belief she loved pets and wanted to care for them in the future created an “obvious conundrum”.
“If you loved your pets why did you treat them like you did?” Mr Forrest asked Woloszczuk in the dock.
Originally from the Czech Republic, Woloszczuk was a “public sector practitioner” for many years.
Mr Forrest handed her a 12-month good behaviour bond and she will have to pay total costs of nearly $1000.
Matthew Coulter and Kylie Coulter
An Oaklands Parks couple have been forbidden from owning animals until further notice after two of their dogs were found with their ribs “protruding”, a court has heard.
Both Matthew Coulter, 44, and Kylie Coulter, 39, at the Christies Beach Magistrate Court pleaded guilty to ill-treatment of an animal after an inspecting officer found their female and male mastiff crosses, named Scooby and Duncan, in an emaciated state in 2020.
Magistrate Teresa Anderson said the couple had failed to provide appropriate and adequate food for the dogs between May 29 and June 19.
For the RSPCA, Jillian Smith said the inspecting officer found Scooby at the lowest body score a dog could have (one out of nine), while Duncan was found at 1.5 out of nine.
Brad Dittmar, for the Coulters, told the court the couple was struggling financially due to the impacts of the pandemic, which led to the offending.
“Their ribs were protruding, they had a sunken and wasted appearance,” Magistrate Anderson said.
“These dogs and their body conditions were such that they weren’t too far off death.”
Magistrate Anderson sentence the couple to six weeks in jail suspended on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
The Coulters were also fined $4894 with Magistrate Anderson ordering Luna be surrendered and prohibiting them from owning any animals until further order.
Sandra Yandell
A Lewiston breeder whose property was described as a scene of “extreme filth and degradation” avoided jail for her “criminal mismanagement” of 118 ragdoll cats.
Magistrate Yoong Fee Chin handed Sandra Yandell a suspended six-month jail sentence in 2020, after the 66-year-old pleaded guilty in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court to nine counts of the ill-treatment of an animal.
The court heard Yandell had received nine animal welfare notices from the RSPCA in 2018.
An inspection on May 27, 2020, from a local vet and an RSPCA inspector found the property riddled with faeces and urine. They also found three dead cats at the property.
Yandell was fined $500 for not following the cat breeders’ code of practice and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.
Amanda Conroy
A Davoren Park mother-of-three received a three-year good behaviour bond for leaving two dogs in a “quite disturbing” state, a court has heard.
Amanda Conroy, 37, pleaded guilty in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court in 2021 to two counts of the mistreatment of animals: female staffordshire cross Roxy and male staffordshire cross Tun.
The court heard she failed to provide adequate food for the dogs between October 8 and November 8, 2019 and were found by the RSPCA to be in an “emaciated condition”.
Magistrate Mark Semmens said Tun was underweight, slightly dehydrated with scabs on his belly while Roxy was also underweight with scabs on her head.
Conroy received a three-year, $3500 good behaviour bond, two convictions and she will have to pay total costs of $1520.
Geoffrey Mortensen
In December 2019, a disability pensioner received a suspended prison sentence for failing to take his sick dog to a vet.
Geoffrey Mortensen, of Waterloo Corner, admitted to two counts of animal neglect laid by the RSPCA over elderly fox terrier Brandy.
Brandy was seized in August of 2018 from a property that Mortensen shared with a former de facto, Sarah Van Roon.
Van Roon, formerly of Brisbane, also was charged but fled Adelaide shortly afterwards.
The Elizabeth Magistrates Court heard Brandy had been left untreated with ailments including infected eyes, ears, mouth and front left paw, cancerous lumps and a worm infestation.
Yum Ho Chan
A Mount Gambier man who put a cable tie around the muzzle of his 11-month-old german shepherd, preventing her from eating, drinking or panting to cool down, was placed on a good behaviour bond in October 2019.
Yum Ho Chan appeared in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court charged with one count of ill-treating his dog, Chloe, to cause harm after a passer-by found her on March 9.
In a statement, the RSPCA, who prosecuted the case, said Chloe – who had since been rehomed – was found unable to breathe naturally and in distress.
After the cable tie was removed, Chloe drank water constantly for a long period before climbing into a plastic clam shell full of water.
RSPCA chief veterinarian Dr Brad Ward said preventing a dog from opening its mouth would severely inhibit its ability to regulate its body temperature.
James Alexander Rech
A drug addict stabbed his friend and dismembered his housemate’s eight-month-old dog in a “sadistic” crime spree, the District Court heard.
James Alexander Rech was sentenced for a string of crimes between April 2017 and July 2018 including assaulting police, aggravated assault, causing harm with intent and aggravated ill-treatment of an animal to cause death.
Judge Sophie David said the offending, which culminated in a gruesome three-day drug-fuelled crime spree, resulted in Rech repeatedly stabbed his housemate’s american staffordshire terrier, Warlock, over an alleged debt.
Police found Rech “standing in the street, covered in blood, holding the head of the dog in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other” in Hampstead Gardens.
Judge David said photographs of the aftermath were truly disturbing.
The court heard Rech, who is in remission from leukaemia suffered as a teenager, had described himself as “an evil, putrid nut case” when on drugs.
He was jailed for five years and six days, with a non-parole period of three years for all of the offences. He is also banned from owning an animal.
Judge David imposed a sentence of 12 months for killing Warlock, nine months of which was to be served cumulatively on his other penalties.
The RSPCA said Warlock was a “much-loved member of the family” after his owner had saved up to buy him as an eight-week-old puppy.
James Alan Wilson
A welfare recipient avoided a jail term for starving several cats, dogs and puppies he could not afford to feed.
James Alan Wilson, was left with the animals – at least eight dogs, nine cats and three puppies – after his former partner left the Salisbury North home they shared in April 2015.
He previously pleaded guilty to 12 counts of ill-treating an animal for failing to provide adequate living conditions and failing to provide adequate food and water for the animals.
In sentencing in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Monday, Magistrate Rodney Oates said RSPCA inspectors found some food bowls present at the property, but they were insufficient for the number of animals.
Mr Oates ordered Wilson serve a five-month prison term for the animal cruelty offences, suspended on condition of a good behaviour bond.
He also ordered Wilson pay $2000 of the RSPCA’s $8085 costs, and $300 in legal fees.
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