By Kim Choe
The SPCA says it is shocked at the mistreatment of a young puppy at the hands of a group of Auckland children.
They were seen using it as a football and a basketball, and the animal cruelty group is worried about the boys' behaviour and how it could escalate.
The labrador cross is only two months old, but it has already suffered severe trauma and serious bruising at the hands of a group of young boys.
“He was shaking, continuously shaking, whimpering… he was very scared, very scared and very tired,” says animal welfare inspector Lori Davis.
The SPCA was called to the South Auckland park yesterday night in response to what they describe as a “distressing scene”.
It was there that a neighbour reported seeing four children aged 12 to 13 kicking the puppy like a football, and throwing it through the basketball hoop.
“Throwing him on the ground, kicking him around – she'd seen it happen the night before, Saturday night as well,” Ms Davis says.
Cruelty to household pets has been in the headlines recently, with British woman Mary Bale condemned worldwide for a spontaneous act of throwing a cat in a wheelie bin.
But the SPCA says New Zealanders get up to much worse, and this latest case is particular cause for concern because of the offenders' young ages.
“It worries me, you know – what leads from there? Where does it go? Do they kill next time? Do they move on to people? It's really scary, really, really scary, really shocking,” she says.
The boys are too young to be dealt with by the Youth Court, so police have referred them to their youth aid section.
The SPCA hopes to take ownership of the puppy and eventually adopt him out.
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