‘That’s what you get for not listening’ - woman sentenced after beating pregnant dog

The woman appeared in the Manukau District Court on 2 October and was sentenced to 40 hours' community work and eight months’ supervision.

In October 2024, a member of the public was visiting a property in Wiri when they noticed a roaming dog, known as Medusa.

About 20 minutes later, the defendant walked from her house, noticed Medusa was roaming and called the dog to return to her; but instead, Medusa ran down the side of the property between the house and fence. The woman became agitated and followed her.

She started dragging Medusa by the collar towards the house and hitting her with closed fists in the neck and face. As she was dragging the dog she began to yell, “That’s what you get for not listening.” “I bet that hurt” and “Is that sore.”

Medusa didn’t resist being dragged and lay on her back squealing while being hit. When the woman let Medusa go, she ran back to the same spot. The defendant followed her, assaulting her again.

The attack lasted about five minutes with the second part of it captured on video. The footage was sent to SPCA and Inspectors executed a search warrant later that day, where Medusa was taken into SPCA care.

Veterinary examination revealed that Medusa was pregnant and showed clear signs of neck pain from the assault.

The veterinarian concluded that Medusa was suffering from ‘learned helplessness’, a condition where animals learn not to react to pain, in fear that it will result in further anger from their abuser, causing more pain.

The vet said the assault would have resulted in severe acute pain at the time and moderate ongoing pain after, due to muscle and skin bruising, and the assault would have been severely emotionally distressing for Medusa, causing anxiety, pain, fearfulness, anger and panic.

SPCA CEO Todd Westwood labelled the attack as ‘sickening.’

“Medusa’s ordeal was deeply distressing. No animal should ever be treated this way, let alone by the person responsible for their care and wellbeing. The fact that Medusa was pregnant at the time makes this behaviour even more appalling.”

"Medusa is now in a safe, caring environment with our teams who are doing an incredible job of building her confidence and teaching her to trust again.”

When interviewed, the defendant admitted she was the owner and had known Medusa was pregnant about three weeks before the assault.

She initially denied being the person responsible for Medusa’s attack, but when shown the video and screenshots, admitted responsibility.

SPCA Canine Lead, Jenna Morris, says Medusa has thrived in SPCA and foster care. Medusa also gave birth to her puppies at the Centre, all of which have been adopted.

“Medusa still remains in care of her foster, but while in Centre care, she quickly became our star resident. She became our go-to dog for welcoming and settling in the newbies, making friends, teaching them how to play and encouraging them to come out of their shells,” Jenna says.

“She is a volunteer favourite, and it goes without saying every staff member who interacts with her just loves her.

“Medusa has grown up with us, she has blossomed into the best girl in the world and there really is no bad bone in her body.  We all love her and are very excited to see her also find her forever home.”

The woman was also disqualified from owning dogs for two years and ordered to pay reparations of $1,040.