THE dog’s death has been deemed an accident according to Senior Inspector of the Empangeni SPCA, Roland Fivas.
With the help of the police, the vehicles registration plates were traced and the owner of the vehicle was identified and questioned. ‘After speaking to the woman and looking at video footage from the petrol station, it was established there was no intent to harm the animal in any way,’ said Fivaz.
The woman who had spent the weekend on the coast was returning home with the dog, a present she had recently received.
‘The dog was tied in the bin of the bakkie and during the trip must have jumped out of the bin and was subsequently strangled and then dragged alongside the vehicle,’ he said.
According to Fivaz, the driver would not have noticed, as the dog was not visible and in her blind-spot.
The SPCA has closed the matter calling the death an accident but Fivas urged people not to transport dogs in open bakkies.
‘This is not the first incident of this nature and we need to make the public realise the risks when transporting dogs in open bakkies. Its not only the dogs life in jeopardy but pedestrians walking past too.’
Fivaz added that animals, especially dogs must be transported in an enclosure preventing a tragedy like this from taking place again.
28 JANUARY 2014 – 9.30am
Dead dog mystery
THE sight of a dog hanging from a leash and being dragged along outside the passenger door of a bakkie at an Engen Garage in Empangeni, horrified a Zululand resident on Monday morning.
‘I could not believe what I was seeing, the dog was literally being dragged along the road.’
In shock, the eyewitness watched as the petrol attendant tried to speak to the driver about the dog, but she refused to get out of her vehicle.
The eyewitness did, however, manage to take photos of the bakkie and the dog,as well as the registration plate.
‘The driver did not seem phased at all. It was only when she saw me taking photos that she reacted and became aggressive. At this point, I left,’ said the eyewitness.
After driving away from the garage and stopping to check the photos, the eyewitness noticed the same bakkie stop on the side of the N2, creating suspicion that the dog’s body may have been dumped in the vegetation there.
Senior Inspector of the Empangeni SPCA, Roland Fivas was informed of the incident and a case has been opened with the police.
‘This is horrific, it’s blatant cruelty to animals and the perpetrators need to be brought to book. An investigation will take place and the area where the dog may have been dumped will be searched,’ said Fivas.
