Owner fined after dog’s ear condition so bad it had to be euthanised
A Caboolture woman who could not afford a vet said she did “the best I could” to help her dog, which was seized by the RSPCA and disposed of.
Moreton
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A Caboolture woman whose dog was taken from her and euthanised has told a court she could not afford the cost of a vet to treat the animal.
Micah Maree Doolan, 34, said she could not pay to treat her dog Digit’s chronic ear condition which Caboolture Magistrates Court heard had affected the dog since she acquired it.
While Doolan had bought pet insurance for the dog, the policy did not cover the dog’s ear condition.
The court heard on July 17, 2019 an RSPCA inspector visited her home and Doolan told them she did not have the money to pay a $1000 vet bill and had instead been treating the dog’s ears herself, which was not effective enough.
According to the inspector the dog’s ears were crusty, swollen and bleeding.
The court also heard the dog lived in the garage and was kept on a tether.
“I did the best I could,” Doolan told Magistrate James Blanch.
“Instead of giving me time to treat her ears, they took her and killed her,” she said.
However Magistrate Blanch said she had been approached by the RSPCA on two other occasions.
“You were issued an animal welfare direction in July 2016, and April 2018,” he said.
Doolan pleaded guilty to failing to provide the dog with appropriate living conditions, failing to provide appropriate water and failing to provide appropriate treatment for an injury, adding she could not afford a lawyer to help her fight the charges.
She was fined $2000 and ordered to pay more than $750 in costs. No conviction was recorded.
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