A 17-year-old bodybuilder from Bloemfontein, South Africa, broke a puppy’s leg when trying to test strength, almost killing the dog.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Bloemfontein was called to the Bayswater area on Sunday night around 23:00 by a passerby who heard a dog howling in pain.
The Bloemfontein SPCA said that they were shook by what they had found, on their Facebook page.
“We found a puppy lying in a pool of blood and hardly able to move. We struggled to get to the dog as the 17-year-old tried to fight us off.”
“We contacted the authorities to help us to get to the dog. While we were waiting for the authorities, we tried talking to the boy and asked him what had happened and why he was fighting us off.”
The teenager told Matthee that he was a bodybuilder who simply wanted to test his strength.
The dog, unfortunately, was used as a strength challenge.
The teenager said, “he saw on social media how people lifted heavy stuff to see what their breaking limits are. We still wanted to know what had happened to the dog, so we asked him again. He said that he wanted to see what he can lift and how strong he was. So he started by lifting heavy metals and breaking a broom stick, but it was not enough. He then googled how strong bones were and what amount of force can break [them]. He then called his dog and started to press on the dog’s leg.”
The young boy proceeded to break the dog’s leg until the bone pierced through its skin, causing tremendous blood loss to the unsuspecting canine.
Despite the agonizing pain caused to the hound, “he knew what he was doing was wrong and yet continued doing it. The poor dog continued to scream while we were waiting for the authorities.”
The teenager’s aggression, when Bloemfontein SPCA arrived at his home, meant that the puppy could not be properly treated to until the police arrived to defuse the situation.
The teenager was arrested and the puppy was taken to a vet for treatment.
Surgery to repair the dog’s horrific injury amounted to around ZAR 8,000–approximately $555 USD.
“The dog suffered an open fracture and lost a lot of blood, which caused him to be very weak. We want to give Rover a better life and a special Christmas.
“We are asking for the public’s assistance to help Rover. We realize that it is a difficult time of year, but we would really like to give Rover a special home before Christmas.”