His new owners Terri Mann and Nick Beck have given him a new start, a new name - Delvinious or Del for short - and a bright future with a family who "absolutely adore" him.
Former owner Aaron Paul Bidois has been fined $1500 plus court costs, and disqualified from owning another animal for five years, after he was found guilty in Tauranga District Court on Monday of a charge of ill-treating an animal. Last July a neighbour called 111 after seeing Bidois striking the then 8-week old pup and reported hearing the dog scream. Del suffered a deep puncture wound to the top of his head and dental and cheek fractures.
When the Bay of Plenty Times visited Del and Ms Mann yesterday it was obvious he had found a loving home.
Ms Mann said she and her partner Mr Beck adopted Del from Tauranga SPCA when he was 3-4 months old, having been told some basic facts about his history.
"I grew up having dogs and always wanted to get a dog of my own. But when I heard Del had been mistreated I was a bit reluctant at first thinking he may have behavioural problems. I was reassured after Nick went to see him and the SPCA told us he had a great temperament," she said. "Del has turned out to be my best dog ever. We just love him to bits," she said.
Tauranga SPCA inspector Jason Blair said it was disappointing that despite SPCA's efforts to educate animal owners, incidents of neglect or ill-treatment continued. In the past two weeks he had filed 11 charging documents with Tauranga District Court against four people in relation to alleged ill-treatment and neglect offences.
- By Sandra Conchie of the Bay of Plenty Times
