Perth animal cruelty: Man fined for locking mum’s dog in laundry for four days after promise to look after it

A man who promised to look after his mother’s dog instead locked it in a laundry without adequate food or water.

The 34-year-old Perth man was fined $2000 and banned from owning animals for two years after he left the dog locked in a laundry for at least four days.

The fine was suspended for 12 months.

RSPCA WA received a report from WA Police in June 2022 about a skinny staffy crossbreed locked in a room at a property in Koondoola.

The dog, Bella, was living with the offender’s mother who had been admitted to hospital.

The offender had assured police he would look after the dog in his mother’s absence, but checks by an RSPCA WA inspector showed the dog was still in the laundry with a tin of unopened dog food on the washing machine and an empty bucket lying on its side.

Attempts to reach the offender were unsuccessful and the dog was seized.

The Perth Magistrates Court was told on November 24, Bella and the laundry floor were covered in urine and faeces.

There were dog biscuits on the ground, but they were among the dog’s waste.

Inspector manager Kylie Green said the offender had let Bella down.

“Promising to look after someone’s dog while they’re in hospital isn’t a ‘maybe’ or ‘if I get round to it’ promise,” she said.

“As the court determined, the offender was responsible for Bella’s welfare during that time.

“Bella had no other options. She was totally reliant on him for her most basic needs of food and water, not to mention what it would have felt like to be locked in a tiny laundry for four days.”