Latest news with #dogwelfare
CBS News
17-07-2025
- CBS News
2 dogs died inside hot car with closed windows in Massachusetts, police say; 2 women charged
Two women have been charged with animal cruelty in Bridgewater, Massachusetts after police said two dogs died inside a hot car on Wednesday. Police were called to a condo on Heather Lane shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday after getting a 911 call reporting two women screaming and crying outside the building. When police arrived, they said they found two dead medium-sized dogs lying on the ground near a walkway. The 59-year-old woman and 32-year-old woman, both of Bridgewater, had allegedly left the dogs inside a hot car for more than 90 minutes with the windows closed and no air conditioning. The two women allegedly took the dogs out of the car and tried to revive them before police were called. Bridgewater firefighters determined the temperature inside the car at the time was at least 130 degrees. Police said their investigation also revealed the dogs had also been living in unsanitary conditions inside the home. Both women will be summoned to Brockton District Court on charges of cruelty to animals and confinement of an animal in a motor vehicle causing exposure to extreme heat. The women aren't being identified but police said they're related. The two dogs, a 4-year-old male and a 2-year-old female, were taken to a veterinarian's office for a necropsy. "This is a really terrible tragedy that was truly preventable," said Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte at a news conference Thursday. "In extreme conditions, particularly under direct sunlight, we know that vehicles can heat up very, very quickly and so our advice to people is obviously make your pets a priority as well as your own family," said Delmonte. "But in making them a priority, make sure you're accounting for the conditions that may sneak up on you." In 2016, then-Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law that allows people to rescue animals trapped in hot cars without facing charges if they believe the animals are in imminent danger.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Tough new dog law that could get Aussies into trouble for not spending enough time with their pets
A proposed law in the Australian Capital Territory could force dog owners to spend at least three hours a day with their pets. The draft Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs has put forward several changes that would become mandatory across all households. Among the proposed laws is that dogs must receive 'human contact for a reasonable length of time each day'. Other suggestions include the discouragement of retractable leads and tighter restrictions on surgical debarking. 'This Code aims to ensure that all dogs receive proper treatment consistent with the need to maintain their comfort, security, physical and mental well-being at all times,' the document reads. The ACT in 2019 formally recognised pets and other animals as 'sentient beings' with the Animal Welfare Legislation Amendment Bill. It decided 'animals have intrinsic value and deserve to be treated with compassion' and 'people have a duty to care for the physical and mental welfare of animals'. The act would follow similar rules imposed in several nations in Europe, including Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, Germany proposed – and later passed with amendments – laws legislating the importance of physical exercise and contact with environmental stimuli for pet dogs. Switzerland's Animal Protection Ordinance mandates that dogs must have daily contact with humans and, if possible, with other dogs, and should not be left alone for more than four hours. But in the ACT, the plan has raised questions about how the act would be enforced. Some residents said the policy was underdeveloped and suggested the government deal with other issues, including the budget and healthcare. 'There's quite a lot of things in the ACT that the bureaucrats have come up with and it sounds like a good idea at first, but it doesn't seem to be well thought through,' Tam Goddard told the ABC. 'How are they going to police that?' Ms Goddard labelled it a 'diversionary tactic'. 'Do they worry about human contact for the homeless?' she said. 'Who is going to go and talk to them? Do we have more programs to support them? 'The government, most of the time, leaves it to the charities to take care of those not so fortunate in our city, and you don't need to walk far to see them.' RSPCA ACT's Rhiannon Kwateng said the organisation would welcome the proposal. 'It's so crucial that we as pet owners meet not just their physical needs but their mental needs as well,' she said. Ms Kwateng said most owners had nothing to fear as they already exceeded the proposed minimum amount of contact.
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Moment gardener grabs his elderly dog and throws him over gate onto concrete path
A shocking video shows the moment an owner grabs his elderly Staffordshire bull terrier and throws him over a gate and onto a concrete path. Kieran O'Connor, 35, has now been banned from keeping pets for five years after he exposed his dog Prince to 'acute pain'. CCTV footage shows the self-employed gardener launching his ageing pet from the pavement instead over opening the gate for him to walk in. Prince, from Liverpool, can be seen in the footage falling on his side and stumbling as O'Connor strolls through the gate into his garden. A court heard the RSPCA began investigating the case after a worried member of the public sent the video to them. At Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates' Court, O'Connor admitted to failing to meet Prince's needs to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease by the 'infliction of physical abuse and emotional distress' - in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. He was given a community order which involves 26 programme requirement days and ordered to pay costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of £114. At a sentencing hearing on July 2, RSPCA Inspector Caren Goodman said in a statement to the court that she went to the defendant's then address in Kirkby, Merseyside, in October last year. Accompanied by a colleague and a Merseyside Police officer, she got no answer by knocking the door, but could see Prince through a window, sitting on the front room sofa. The police officer who was with her called the defendant's number - which was advertised on his trailer parked outside - but he refused to attend the address. After waiting 25 minutes, the officer gained entry to the property using a search warrant, and Prince was taken into RSPCA care. She said Prince had 'ideal body condition', was 'bright, alert and active' and showed 'no obvious signs of distress'. When she spoke to the defendant the following day, he claimed he was 'putting his dog over the fence' because his neighbours had accused Prince of attacking their dogs. A vet at RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital who viewed the footage, said it began with Prince being walked on a lead towards a gate by a man. Her report added that 'instead of opening the gate' he was seen 'picking up the dog and forcefully throwing it on the other side of the gate. 'The dog has fallen down on its side/back' and 'looks very confused on the video, it takes a few seconds for it to get up.' The vet signed a Veterinary Certificate supporting Prince's removal from the house and at the surgery, he was given pain relief. Although a full examination revealed that he had not sustained any fractures, the vet said he had been put through unnecessary distress and suffering. After the hearing, Inspector Goodman said: 'The most surprising thing about this case is that Kieran did not seem to understand that what he did was wrong. 'This attitude meant that he would not sign Prince over to us - even when the prosecution had run its course. 'We had to obtain an order from the court to make sure we could take him into our care and get him into a safe and secure environment. 'Every animal has the right to be treated with kindness and respect. 'Nobody should be cruel or neglectful towards any animal and the kind of violence we saw here is absolutely unacceptable. 'I would also like to thank the kind member of the public who reported this attack to us. 'Without their intervention and without the video evidence they allowed us to use, this prosecution would have been more difficult.
ABC News
06-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Dog owners must spend three hours minimum with pet under ACT's proposed animal welfare laws
Pet owners would be legally required to spend a minimum of three hours with their dog every day under proposed laws in the ACT, but questions remain about how such laws would be enforced. The draft Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs in the ACT features a number of mandatory standards including restricting surgical debarking and making it compulsory for owners to provide animals with "human contact for a reasonable length of time each day (three hours minimum)". The code also includes guidelines such as recommending against the use of retractable dog leads. Campbell's Tam Goddard has had her rescue kelpie Ruff for seven years and said the draft code was half-baked. "There's quite a lot of things in the ACT that the bureaucrats have come up with and it sounds like a good idea at first, but it doesn't seem to be well thought through," Ms Goddard said. "How are they going to police that? "Do we rely on people dobbing in each other? "How do you define human contact? Do they need to be sitting right next to you, or do you need to walk them?" Ms Goddard is concerned about the government's priorities during a cost-of-living crisis. "Do they worry about human contact for the homeless? Who is going to go and talk to them? Do we have more programs to support them? The government, most of the time, leaves it to the charities to take care of those not so fortunate in our city and you don't need to walk far to see them." The ACT Government has just made it more expensive for volunteers to provide services like that after introducing an $11 fee to acquire a volunteer working with vulnerable people card. Ms Goddard said the proposal was government overreach. "A lot of the time the government is hands-off, but then on the other hand they seem to dictate things that seem unnecessary," she said. "Why is the government getting into this sort of thing? RSPCA ACT's Rhiannon Kwateng supported the proposed changes and wanted to see the ACT lead the way around pet rights. She said the RSPCA followed a rigorous process before adopting out animals "to make sure [an owner] can meet the basic needs for that animal". She said most owners would already be spending far more than three hours with their pets. "Animals are sentient beings. They do have emotions. They do feel things," Ms Kwateng said. The ACT became the first jurisdiction in Australia to recognise the sentience of animals in law in 2019. Ms Kwateng acknowledged that enforcing the proposed rules would be tricky and said more conversations would be required. However, she said 'human contact' for an animal could be anything. "It's just being with them. Dogs are so social and just having that moment of being in the same room is meeting their basic needs," she said. The draft plan is on public exhibition until August 22.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- BBC News
West Midlands Police dog 'will never be forgotten' after death
A "loyal" and "cheeky" police dog will "never be forgotten" after his death, his former handler Ellis died at his home aged 10 on Tuesday, West Midlands Police said, with a spokesperson adding the force was "heartbroken" at his had retired in 2022 and was living with his former handler, PC Gez Cotter, who posted his own tribute on X."You kept me safe and brought me home at the end of every shift," he posted. "Rest easy my beautiful lad until we meet again , I will miss you but you will never be forgotten."The force's dog welfare charity Hero Paws posted the tribute online on behalf of PC Cotter, who retired this week after 36 years with the force.H said he woke up to what "every dog handler dreads" after finding his "ever present and loyal friend" had died Cotter said the black German shepherd was a "real character" with a "kind heart" and "cheeky nature". Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
