Alex Trelinski
A COUPLE have been convicted of animal abuse at a Valencia court after their Great Dane dog died of starvation with an expert saying it was the ‘worst case she had ever seen’.
The pet- named Leia- spent five of her six years tied to a rope on a terrace in Albalat de la Ribera.
The owners were each given 12 month suspended prison sentences and ordered to attend an animal protection course following a prosecution brought by the Avada animal rights lawyers group.
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Avada president, Amparo Requena, said it was the cruellest animal abuse case his group had come across because of the injuries suffered by the dog and with neighbours complaining to the Policia Local several times who even offered to look after Leia.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the private prosecution criticised authorities for doing nothing to help her and even allowing the owners to bury her without the body being removed for examination.
She had to be exhumed for the gruesome details of her mistreatment to be confirmed.
Leia died in January 2022 as a result of gastric torsion as a result of not being fed and the owners only took her to the vet once during her six year life.
An expert told the court that Leia had suffered a violent blow that caused a rupture of her left rib that resulted in a pneumothorax.
When Leia started barking as a result of the rupture, the owners placed an electric shock collar on her, as she remained tied to a short piece of rope.
Over the dog’s malnutrition, the expert said that she had never seen such a severe case where there was a complete absence of fat in the dog’s body.
