A 37-year-old Tauranga man has been sentenced to 200 hours of community work for letting his dog suffer when it sustained severe injuries falling off the back of his ute, the SPCA says.
SPCA chief executive Ric Odom said Jarrod Wharekawa did not properly tie up his 5-month-old Staffordshire Terrier crossbred, and it jumped or fell from the moving vehicle, still tethered, and was dragged along the road for some time.
But Mr Odom said Mr Wharekawa's real mistake was not taking the vet's advice to euthanise or seek effective treatment for the badly injured dog.
"At the very least it was someone who cared so much for his animal, he couldn't face the idea of it being euthanised. But that doesn't excuse the behaviour," he said.
Mr Odom said the SPCA eventually put the dog down after they found it at the owner's home.
The SPCA says Jarrod Wharekawa was also fined more than $600.
