‘Disgusting’ dog attack in Western Australia caught on CCTV

WARNING: A small dog was bashed in broad daylight. Now the culprit has been jailed for the “incredibly violent” attack.

WARNING: Distressing footage

A woman who was caught on camera inflicting “incredibly violent” abuse on her jack russell dog in Western Australia has been jailed for up to 15 months.

Linda Marie Deworboies was on Wednesday sentenced at Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court, which heard the incident on New Year’s Day 2022 was captured in “confronting” CCTV footage.

Deworboies, 47, from Leonora — 833 kilometres northeast of Perth — was seen holding her dog, Buster, by his legs and swinging him repeatedly into a brick wall.

It also captured her punching and stomping on the defenceless animal over the course of two minutes in broad daylight.

The woman’s violent behaviour unfolded in front of a child, a factor Magistrate Janie Gibbs found “significantly aggravated … what she did to Buster”.

“(To) describe the footage as confronting is an understatement,” she said.

“(She was) willing to be so incredibly violent to such a small, defenceless animal in broad daylight.”

Deworboies was charged after a local police officer recognised her from the footage taken near Leonora’s post office.

The court heard she claimed to an RSCPA WA officer that Buster had been injured after being hit by a car.

A dog called Buster was bashed in Leonara in 2022.

The incident was described as “disgusting”. Pictures: Supplied

Buster was taken to a vet who found the dog had significant injuries to the point where one of his legs were amputated.

The dog was later euthanised in May 2022, despite the efforts to rehabilitate him.

Speaking after Wednesday’s decision in court, RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said the footage had shown a “cruel, deliberate, prolonged attack on a small dog”.

“Buster would have been suffering physical pain and emotional trauma through the whole ordeal,” she said.

Buster was euthanised a few months after the attack.

The offender was jailed this week. Picture: Supplied

“Quite frankly, a betrayal of trust that brutal can only be described as disgusting and the fact the offender committed this attack in front of a child is incomprehensible.

“RSPCA WA is pleased the immediate prison sentence reflects the serious nature of the offending.”

Deworboies was convicted under two sections of the Animal Welfare Act 2002, for being a person who was cruel to an animal.

The maximum penalty is a $50,000 fine and five years in prison.

Deworboies was on Wednesday banned from being in charge of domestic animals in the future.

She has already spent four months in custody and her sentence was backdated to March 2024.

Originally published as ‘Disgusting’ dog attack in Western Australia caught on CCTV