Starving puppy back in shape as owner sentenced

A Naenae woman has been convicted after her "skeletal" puppy was found stumbling and barely alive in a Lower Hutt street.

Naomi Williams, 28, a student, pleaded guilty to one charge of starving her crossbred puppy, Mystique, when she appeared in Wellington District Court this week.

A member of the public alerted the SPCA in July when they saw a severely weak and emaciated seven-month-old Mystique stumbling aimlessly in the middle of the road.

Williams told investigators she knew the puppy was skinny but thought it was due to her being part greyhound.

The SPCA vet that examined Mystique said the sole cause of her condition was a lack of food and she could have died without intervention.

Wellington SPCA animal welfare inspector Brett Lahman said the dog was "skeletal" and could barely stand.

"She was a bag of bones. We have had ones that have been worse but you don't want to get too much worse. It's a serious level of starvation."

Williams was sentenced to 60 hours' community service, ordered to pay Wellington SPCA costs of $3235 and lawyers' fees of $250, and was disqualified from owning or caring for any dog for up to five years.

With regular feeding, Mystique has been nursed back to health by SPCA carers. Mr Lahman said Mystique had responded well and was "one of the most popular dogs we've had here".

"She's a very kind-hearted and human-focused, friendly dog, unlike a lot of the dogs we see that have been severely neglected."

Wellington SPCA executive director Peter Mason said in some cases educating owners was an option, but this case was serious enough to take to court.

The SPCA now has legal ownership of Mystique and will try to find her a home.