Couple banned from owning pets after neglected dog, puppies seized

The emaciated mother dog and her two puppies, both burdened with hookworm, were seized from a Fraser Coast home.

Sasha and her puppies were seized by the RSPCA from the Aldershot home of Natasha Lee and Shane Leslie Bennett.

A Fraser Coast couple has been banned from owning pets for five years after they pleaded guilty to numerous animal neglect charges.

Natasha Lee, 35, and Shane Leslie Bennett, 38, both pleaded guilty to four charges of breach of care to an animal when they appeared before Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Monday.

According to a statement of facts provided to the court, the RSPCA received a complaint about the welfare of a dog and her two puppies at the couple’s Aldershot home.

Sasha and her puppies were seized by the RSPCA from the Aldershot home of Natasha Lee and Shane Leslie Bennett.

The statement said an inspector came to the home in May last year but no one was home.

It was noted that both sides of the fencing at the property was littered with faeces.

The inspector saw the couple’s dog, a Great Dane cross bull Arab named Sasha through the fence.

She was tethered to a large metal chain and was in an emaciated condition with her hips, ribs and spine protruding, as well as visible muscle wastage.

The two male puppies were also seen by the inspector.

Both were in reasonable body conditions but had severely distended abdomens, indicating they had hookworm burdens.

In the yard, a piece of sheet metal covered a corner of the pen over a small pile of blankets, which were converted in dirt and dust.

The inspector observed there was no available food in the pen and Sasha’s chain did not appear long enough for her to access the water bowls, which only had about 1cm of water in them.

Sasha and her puppies were seized by the RSPCA from the Aldershot home of Natasha Lee and Shane Leslie Bennett.

Natasha Bennett was contacted by the inspector who said she had cleaned the dogs’ pen the weekend before and she had wormed Sasha two days ago but was advised by someone that she did not need to work the puppies because they are too young.

She also told the inspector that Sasha would be given to her uncle as she was “over being in trouble” for her condition.

Natasha said one of the puppies had died and she had buried it in the backyard so she “didn’t get in trouble”.

She said Sasha was only skinny because she had just given birth.

Natasha then passed the phone over to Shane, who told the inspector that the puppies were “fat as anything” and Sasha’s condition was “really good” before she had puppies.

The statement said Sasha had seven puppies, one of which had died and two which were still at the home.

During the phone call Shane said the other puppies had been rehomed two weeks ago when they were only three weeks old.

He did not know if the puppies were vaccinated or microchipped before being rehomed.

Shane said Sasha had been on the tether for a few days but was let off every afternoon.

The inspector advised the couple that she was considering issuing an Animal Welfare Direction to have Sasha and the two puppies assessed by a vet, explaining the defendants would not be able to remove Sasha or the puppies from the property without notifying her beforehand.

Shane then became argumentative, the documents read, telling the inspector she could not stop him removing one of the puppies from the property because he was going to rehome it to his uncle.

He said he did not know how the puppy died and the other puppies were not taken to the vet after it died.

Shane declined surrendering Sasha.

The inspector advised she would be seizing Sasha and the puppies.

Later that day the defendants agreed to surrender the animals.

According the statement of facts, both defendants became increasingly abusive towards the inspector and they terminated the call.

Sasha and the puppies were later seized by the RSPCA.

The animals were taken to Gympie Vet Services where Sasha was found to be dehydrated with a whipworm burden, fleas and was emaciated, with a body score of one in a scale of one to 9.

It was found that her condition was preventable and would have been present from gestation of earlier and exacerbated by poor living conditions, inadequate diet and underfeeding.

The two puppies had a moderate flea burden, a heavy hookworm burden and one had a heart murmur.

Sasha and her puppies have since recovered and been rehomed.

The couple were each fined $2500 and ordered to pay $418.70 in vet bills.

They were banned from owning animals for five years other than those approved by the RSPCA’s chief inspector.

No convictions were recorded.