RSPCA: Australian woman jailed for throwing dog off two-storey carpark 'to do it a favour'

A woman who said she was doing her dog a favour by throwing it off the top of a two-storey carpark will spend a year behind bars.

The shocking incident at a shopping centre in Perth, Western Australia, was captured on CCTV7 April 2022. The 26-year-old woman, who was not named by local media for legal reasons, was sentenced this week under Australia's Animal Welfare Act for ill-treating an animal. The sentence consists of 10 months in prison for the animal cruelty charge, and two months for other police matters. She was also banned from owning pets for 10 years.

In a statement, the RSPCA Western Australia said the ten-year-old Maltese shih-tzu cross, named Princess, fell nine metres after being thrown. She was found by a member of the public, who assumed she had been hit by a car. Princess was rushed to a nearby vet and was found to be in a state of shock with severe injuries, including possible internal haemorrhaging, brain injury, and spinal and pelvic trauma.

The vet checked Princess’s microchip and contacted the offender, who was listed as her owner. The woman attended the vet with her partner to discuss the extent of the dog’s injuries and the cost of treatment, ultimately deciding on euthanasia.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mark Millington said the offender had left Princess for dead in what he described as a "planned, deliberate and intentional act". He said the offender displayed a lack of remorse and consistently attempted to shift the blame and make excuses for her behaviour.

RSPCA WA said the offender initially confessed to the cruel act on Facebook, saying she couldn’t "live with the guilt", but later deleted the post and told an inspector her account had been hacked. The post also said she did the dog a favour, "as all I did was hurt her and abuse her".

RSPCA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said the CCTV vision, which NationalWorld has seen, shows the woman appearing to argue with her partner, and repeatedly dangling Princess over the side of the carpark and allowing her to walk along the roof edge, for a period of around eight minutes. She then throws the small dog from the roof, before walking away.

"This case was one of the most distressing I’ve seen in my 11 years as an inspector and was a callous and extremely confronting display of animal cruelty," she said. "Dogs can be so trusting, and they rely on their owners to keep them safe. I can’t think of a more disgusting betrayal of that trust."

Inspector Green said the court outcome delivered some justice, "for the pain and terror poor Princess endured" in her final hours. "I hope it also sends a clear message to the community that intentional cruelty towards animals is extremely serious and won’t be tolerated."

Earlier this year, the woman's 23-year-old partner, who was present during the incident, was fined $2,500 and banned from owning animals for three years for failing to seek vet care for Princess.