Husky’s death creates furore on Facebook

WHITE RIVER – The brutal killing of Max has made him South Africa’s best-known husky. He was bludgeoned until he drowned in his own blood and internationally the act has been condemned on social-media platforms.

It has become one of the worst cases of poor neighbourliness in recent times when the dog allegedly attacked the goats of Mr Spahn of Ilanda Guest House on December 30 and they apparently hit the dog while its owner, Mr Marius Kotze witnessed the brutality.

Since then both men have been charged. Kotze was surprised that he too was arrested on a charge of contravention of animal protection on Saturday and he is set to appear in the White River Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Many unanswered questions were raised on social media about the incident and Lowvelder visited both Kotze and Spahn yesterday to get clarity on the event.

Kotze was being blamed for not reacting sooner and for not doing something about the situation while it was in process. He said it wasn’t true. “As soon as I realised it was Max being beaten, I ran to the fence and begged them to stop. I could hear the dog whining but there was nothing I could do as the fence between us was too high. I screamed like a madman, begging them for Max’s life, but when it became quiet and I saw the three men walking away, I knew it was over.”

Kotze said he also called his wife and told her to call the police and to get the SPCA to intervene. “When they arrived it was too late.”

The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) confirmed that it was doing everything it could to ensure justice for Max. “The Lowveld SPCA is working closely with the White River SAPS to ensure that this happens,” the NSPCA said. It also confirmed that Kotze had laid charges of animal cruelty in terms of the Animals Protection Act against Spahn.

According to the council, more charges could follow once the post-mortem report had been received.

“Submission of a strong case with substantiation is essential for any case to proceed and succeed.”

Kotze said he was completely bowled over by the reaction of the public, but expressed concern about initiatives to raise money “to assist this case” that have come to his attention. “Until today, I have not asked anyone for money,” he said. The NSPCA also confirmed this and said it was not sure what the funds being raised were intended for.

The Spahn family welcomed the newspaper and said their life had been hell since the story went viral. “We received numerous threats and at least one well-known booking site has informed us that there might be a possibility that our lodge will be removed from the site,” Mrs Spahn said.

The Spahn family is adamant that Kotze’s dogs have been terrorising them for the past few months and that they had tried on numerous occasions to contact Kotze in an attempt to resolve the issue. The husky’s apparently killed their goats.

Spahn said on December 28 they again heard a goat bleating in anguish and found the dogs in their goat pen. “We closed the pen with one dog still inside and tried to subdue it.

“In the process of freeing our goats, being at our wits’ end and in the face of constants attacks on our animals on our property, fearing for our own security in the face of these aggressive, proven killer animals, and with a negligent neighbour unconcerned about the welfare of our animals and our security, we mortally wounded the dog,” the Spahns said.

According to them, they did see people next to the fence waving. “Kotze didn’t try to call us and today we are still puzzled why he just stood there and didn’t do anything,” the family told the paper.

Kotze, however, stuck to his version and told the paper that the only time the Spahns tried to contact them, was when they posted a note on his gate in August, asking him to turn down his music.