Breeder let family dog suffer with cancer and did not seek help, court heard

Charlie the dog was sick and her Cairns owner knew it, but he did nothing and so she suffered needlessly, a court has heard. WARNING: Disturbing content

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REDLYNCH dog breeder Edward Fitzgerald compared not treating his sick emaciated pup to letting his 90-year-old father “f***n’ die,” a Cairns court has heard.

RSPCA inspectors responded to an anonymous tip about the skeletal state of Charlie, a nine-and-a-half year old American Bulldog cross Bull Arab in May 2018.

Edward John Fitzgerald, a plant operator and self-described “pig dog” breeder, was not surprised when the inspectors arrived at his Redlynch home.

Cairns Magistrates Court this week heard Fitzgerald told inspectors “you’re here about my dog, I bet.”

Despite suspecting the animal had “the big C,” he had not taken her to a vet.

“What, and waste a thousand f***ing dollars, that’s the trouble,” he told inspectors.

RSPCA’s John Eylander told the court that Fitzgerald, 52, compared the matter to his elderly father, 90, who “is also old and they want to do studies on him.”

“Just leave him alone, he’s about to f***n’ die,” Fitzgerald said.

The court heard Fitzgerald had noted Charlie had been off her food, including dog biscuits, bones and chicken livers.

“I know Charlie is poor, really f***n’ poor, I know that,” he told inspectors.

He said he thought the dog’s condition was due to her age and cancer.

Fitzgerald said Charlie needed to be euthanised with “the green dream.”

Charlie was taken to Redlynch Valley vet Dr Karen Wilson who noted that since her last visit in 2017 when she weighed 17kg, Charlie had lost nine kilos.

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She described the dog as being “severely emaciated” with a grapefruit-sized mass near her heart.

The drastic weight loss was attributed to cancer through all her lymph nodes.

Charlie was euthanased and her body returned home to be buried by Fitzgerald’s children.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to treat his dog under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001.

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Magistrate Catherine Benson said Fitzgerald had failed Charlie by not taking her to a vet when she began to lose weight despite his own self diagnosis.

She said his delay caused the pup prolonged suffering that was completely unnecessary.

Ms Benson fined Fitzgerald $1300, ordered he pay $650 to the RSPCA and $250 in vet fees plus costs.

Fitzgerald has been banned from owning a dog for two years.

Originally published as Breeder let family dog suffer with cancer and did not seek help, court heard