When this emaciated dog was seized from Taila Voelkel, it had a body condition of one out of nine. Photo: RSPCA ACT.
CONTENT WARNING: This article may distress some readers.
After an emaciated dog was seized from a woman, an animal services worker remarked that it was one of the skinniest dogs she had ever seen.
Taila Voelkel, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide appropriate care to an animal before she was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday (29 October).
The court heard she found the staffy roaming her neighbourhood in early June 2023 and took it to her home in the suburb of Pearce.
Her neighbour found the dog wandering the street about a week later and took it back to her, saying its ribs were showing and it did not look like it was in the best state.
Voelkel lied when she told some people she called Domestic Animal Services (DAS) about the dog or had gotten rid of it, but she hadn’t.
Seventeen days after taking the dog into her care, she made a post on social media site Facebook asking for help to take it to a vet. A member of the public helped her and drove the dog to DAS.
Magistrate Amy Begley said the dog’s body condition was assessed as one out of nine. It was severely underweight and dehydrated.
A vet said it was emaciated due to prolonged starvation, which would have caused suffering and pain.
The dog weighed about 13 kg when it was seized, but after being taken into care, it weighed about 22 kg four weeks later.
Voekel’s lawyer, Manon McPherson from Legal Aid, stated that her client attempted to feed the dog rice and pasta, but had very few other resources available to sustain it.
She pointed out her client had organised someone to take it to DAS as she was concerned for its welfare.
The dog managed to regain its weight after being seized by Domestic Animal Services. Photo: RSPCA ACT.
Magistrate Begley said Voelkel had no prior criminal history, suffered a difficult and traumatic childhood and had been under significant stress at the time of her offending.
She was “quite clearly just scraping by” financially, she said.
The magistrate said that all lawyers agreed Voelkel had no ill intent towards the dog, but she stated that it was clear that by 16 June, she should have taken it to DAS.
Ms McPherson had asked for her client to be spared a conviction, but Magistrate Begley refused, saying it was a serious example of the offence.
But the magistrate also refused the prosecutor’s request to ban Voelkel from owning animals for a period of time. Voelkel was convicted and sentenced to a six-month good behaviour order.
Afterwards, Michelle Robertson, the CEO of RSPCA ACT, said she was pleased to see that people who do the wrong thing are held to account. She appreciated the effort from her inspectors and the people who came forward to report these incidents.
“Our animals are totally dependent on us to care for them, and this obligation to care is also enshrined in law to get them help when they need it,” she said.
“It is disappointing that the penalties on this occasion do not match up with the expectations of our community.
“However, I note that a conviction was recorded, which is pleasing to see.”
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