Mitchell Weeks, Marion Warner sentenced for dangerous neglect of pet dogs

WARNING: DISTRESSING. A South Burnett couple found with two injured and emaciated dogs, one of which was “sucked dry” of blood by ticks and suffering a festering wound, will be able to own animals again in just two years. Full report:

A South Burnett couple have walked free from court after two injured and emaciated dogs were found in their Blackbutt yard, with one animal nearly “sucked dry” by ticks and suffering a festering wound.

Mitchell Francis Liam Weeks and Marion Warner came to the attention of police in 2020 when officers visited their property and noticed the dogs’ appalling living conditions.

RSPCA prosecutor Kate Gover told Kingaroy Magistrates Court investigators found an underweight American Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Raz tethered to a tree with no shelter and wounds on his back.

Ms Gover said the injuries were either caused by fighting with another dog or chewing at his skin due to tick bites.

The staffy’s water had turned green and the inspector noted his only shelter was a chicken coop-like enclosure.

An “incredibly-skinny” Boxer dog named Cedric was found covered with flies and hiding under a chicken coop.

A foul smell was coming from a severely infected wound on the underside of his neck, which reportedly had maggots crawling in it, and he was covered head-to-toes in hundred of fleas.

When Cedric was rescued he weighed about 16kg - half of what a healthy Boxer dog should weigh - and his body was starting to shutdown from severe anaemia from the fleas.

Ms Gover said the horde of parasites had “sucked him dry” leaving him weak and barely able to walk.

Weeks claimed both dogs were fed with high-quality dog food several times a day despite their horrific frames, saying Cedric had been taken to the vet and placed on deworming medication three months earlier.

There was no record of a trip to any veterinary clinic in the South Burnett to support these claims.

Cedric was given a blood transfusion after he was rescued and was later adopted.

The court was told Raz had to be put down due to aggression, which the court heard could not be attributed to Weeks and Werner.

Weeks and Warner appeared in court via telephone and pleaded guilty to three charges each of breaching their duty of care to an animal by failing to take reasonable steps to provide for the animals accommodation and living conditions, and two counts of breaching their duty of care to an animal by failing to take reasonable steps to provide treatment for disease or injury.

Warner was placed on a good behaviour bond for 12 months while Weeks was fined $5000, since he brought the animals into their home.

Both were ordered to pay about $2285 in compensation for veterinary and legal costs and prohibited from owning an animal without permission from the RSPCA until 2024.

Originally published as Mitchell Weeks, Marion Warner sentenced for dangerous neglect of pet dogs