A woman has faced court on animal cruelty charges related to her dog, which was severely underweight.
Veronica Hodgson, 45, from Shepparton, faced charges in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court of charges of animal cruelty; failing to provide sufficient food, drink or shelter to an animal; failing to provide veterinary or other appropriate treatment to a sick or injured animal; and three counts of having an unregistered animal.
She was not in court, and the matter was heard in her absence.
Prosecutor Simon Pogue told the court Greater Shepparton City Council had been told Hodgson asked council authorities for help with rehoming a large litter of puppies when they contacted her on November 21 last year.
She also told them that the puppies’ mother was “underweight”.
When council officers visited Hodgson’s home, they found a female German short-haired pointer dog in an “extremely emaciated” state and dehydrated.
The dog had a body score of one out of nine, which Mr Pogue said was “as low as it (the score) can get”.
The court heard the likely cause of the dog’s emaciated state was poor nutrition or insufficient provision of food.
The puppies were immediately weaned, and the vet treated the dog with an IV drip and a specified feeding plan to assist with weight gain.
The court was told the dog was also unregistered and there were two other unregistered dogs at the property — one in a “lean condition” and one in a “good” condition.
In an interview with authorities, Hodgson told the court the dog had been owned by her son, who had moved out two years earlier, and that she was now responsible for the dog.
She also told them she was aware of the dog’s emaciated state but said she did not have money to take her to the vet.
Hodgson was fined $3000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of $2281.