Man fined $5000 and banned for animal cruelty after claiming dog ‘turned into a zombie and ate himself’

A 27-year-old Usher man convicted of animal cruelty claimed his dog suffered substantial open wounds after “turning into a zombie and eating himself”. The man was convicted in Bunbury Magistrates Court on September 19 of being cruel to an animal in that he allowed his dog Blaze to suffer harm which could have been alleviated by taking reasonable steps. A statement from RSPCA WA after the matter said inspectors attended the Usher man’s property in April after receiving reports of a male American Staffordshire bull terrier suffering “substantial open wounds to his back, neck, shoulders and head”. The statement said the offender gave contradictory and confusing accounts of how Blaze had received the injuries. Reasons suggested by the offender included Blaze could have been in a dog fight, he could have nibbled on his fur, someone could have hit him and the dog could have “turned into a zombie and started eating himself”. A vet examination found the wounds were consistent with third-degree burns, were 10 to 14 days old and infected with debris. Further examination found the wounds were consistent with injuries from a dog fight, though the vet could not rule out burns. According to the RSPCA statement, Magistrate Stephen Butcher said the offender’s reasons for why Blaze had injuries were “internally inconsistent and implausible”. “If it was not so serious it would be laughable that he thought Blaze turned into a zombie and started eating himself,” he said. “(It is) plain as the nose on my face that anyone can open their eyes and see the injuries which make the lies more implausible.” RSPCA WA inspector manager Kylie Green said it was obvious Blaze was in pain. “Blaze needed vet care for his infected wounds and it is blatant cruelty to have denied him that,” she said. Blaze has since recovered and is in foster care. The man was fined $5000 and ordered to pay $1089 in costs. He was also banned from being in charge or owning animals for five years. The RSPCA relies on the community to report suspected incidents of cruelty and neglect on 1300 CRUELTY (1300 278 358) or online.