Man jailed for abusing pet dog in New Zealand

Melbourne: A man in New Zealand has been jailed for four months for starving his dog which turned to a skeleton covered with fur.

Terepai Noel Teremoana of Auckland was kept behind bars at Manukau District Court after he was found guilty of reckless ill-treatment of the animal.

The dog, named Ben, was discovered with open, infected wounds, and a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) inspector who found him said he looked like “a skeleton covered with fur”, with bones clearly seen through his skin.

The vet who treated the dog said that in her 24 years in the job, Ben was the most emaciated dog she had ever seen.