24 June 2014

A Camillo woman was today fined $5000 and was prohibited from having contact with any animal for a period of five years after being found guilty of animal cruelty in Armadale Magistrates Court. She was also ordered to pay the RSPCA more than $1000 in costs.

Kelly Munut, 37, was the person in charge of an 11-year-old female Rottweiler called "Stella" when RSPCA received a call from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services about a skinny dog with ribs protruding when they visited the Munut's house after receiving a report of a house fire on 22nd of May 2013. The Police noted that Stella was in a very poor physical condition and had a swollen rear foot which caused her pain when she walked. The Police also noticed that the rear yard where Stella was kept was filthy and overgrown.

An RSPCA inspector attended the premises at 4:40pm that day and seized the dog and took the dog to the nearest vet. Upon inspection, the vet assessed Stella and noted that she had a very poor body condition. Further examination and testing revealed that Stella had multiple serious complex medical conditions including cancers of the right hind and left fore paws which were eating into the bone. Stella also had severe joint and spinal disease.

A decision was made to euthanase Stella on humane grounds. A post mortem was carried out and the treating veterinarian noted that the cumulative pain and functional impairment due to all of these disorders is likely to have been considerable.

In a record of interview with the RSPCA, Munut told the inspector that she knew Stella was suffering and that the dog should have been taken to a vet but she had no money.

"The RSPCA would like to thank the WA Police Arson Squad for bringing this matter to our attention in a timely manner. Unfortunately this sort of cruelty goes on behind closed doors every day and without the police and the fire department reporting the matter to us, we would never have found out about this cruelty and there would have been no justice for Stella," RSPCA Chief Inspector Amanda Swift said.