Pet owner sentenced to two months in prison for overfeeding her dog to death

A woman from New Zealand was sentenced to two months in prison for excessively feeding her dog named Nuggi.

According to the NZ Herald, once the dog was recovered from his owner in October 2021, he weighed 53.7kg and his legs strained to hold his massive frame.

Officers from the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said that he had to pause three times to collect his breath while going only 10 metres from where he was confined to get to the rescue car.

He apparently accumulated an excessive amount of fat beneath his skin, so much so that doctors could not register a heartbeat during an initial examination.

According to the NZ Herald, Nuggi also had conjunctivitis and sores on his elbows and abdomen, which were likely caused by the time he spent resting on his stomach due to his inability to move.

His owner is said to have served him eight to 10 pieces of chicken per day, plus lots of doggy biscuits.

“Nuggi was being drastically overfed and, instead of seeking help or amending the behaviour, his owner continued to overfeed him until he could barely walk. This is unacceptable.

“He was so enormous that he could hardly walk and he was clearly suffering as a result of the significant amount of weight he was carrying,” said an SPCA official.

Nuggi lasted two months in the SPCA’s treatment, losing 8.9 kg, before dying abruptly of a haemorrhage from a tumour on his liver. After his death, it was revealed that he had additional health issues, including a liver disease and Cushing’s disease.

IOL