A woman convicted of failing to care for her sick dog has escaped a decade-long pet ownership ban.
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Tessa Jade Woodcock, 42, smiled for media cameras outside the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being handed a $2000 fine for her crime.
RSPCA ACT Inspector Warwick Dunstan said: "Whilst it is disappointing that the application for an animal ban was denied, it is a good result the expectations of the community are moving in the right direction with the substantial financial penalty imposed."
Earlier this month following a hearing, magistrate Ian Temby found Woodcock guilty of failing to provide appropriate care for 13-year-old Narla.
Mr Temby found the woman, a mechanical assistant, had not acted cruelly but rather "had a cavalier attitude to what the animal's needs were".
Proven facts of the case were briefly summarised at Ms Woodcock's sentencing, including Narla having suffered an ear infection that developed over some protracted but unknown period of time mid-last year.
The magistrate found Woodcock failed to provide appropriate care for the sick dog at a Lyneham home by not treating the infection or seeking any form of assistance from a veterinarian.
Narla was taken to the RSPCA and Mr Temby said the dog "would have been in pain". The court heard the dog was eventually returned to its owner by police.
Woodcock has maintained her innocence, telling a court duty report author she "would never neglect" Narla.
And despite Mr Temby's finding to the contrary, she also claims having medicated the dog as advised by a veterinarian.
"Her continued claims of innocence do make it difficult for her to express remorse," the magistrate said.
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Mr Temby denied the prosecution's application to have Woodcock banned from owning a pet for 10 years, rejecting non-physical evidence the RSPCA had previously dealt with the woman on multiple occasions.
A prosecutor submitted the court could have no confidence the woman would provide appropriate care to Narla, which she has owned since the dog was five weeks old, or any other animal.
Giving evidence in court on Wednesday, Mr Dunstan said: "I've got concerns over any animal being in her possession."
Defence lawyer John O'Keefe said removing Narla from Woodcock's care and placing her with the RSPCA, with possible re-homing difficulties, would "effectively be like a death sentence for the dog".
"It'll just spend the rest of its life in a cage," Mr O'Keefe said.
The magistrate agreed it might be difficult to re-home the older dog, who was "perhaps not going to be the most attractive acquisition".
Woodcock was given six months to pay her fine.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
