Charges of animal cruelty and charges of intent to cause grievous harm have been laid against a suspect at the Bophelong Police Station in Vanderbijlpark.

This comes after an SPCA inspector attempting to rescue a puppy was attacked on Monday.

According to a statement by the Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging SPCA, they received an anonymous complaint about a man who had a small puppy tied up in his backyard and that he was abusing the dog daily.

The animal welfare society says: “This has been an ongoing [issue] and the complainant, although terrified that we would disclose her/his identity, couldn’t listen to the pitiful wailing of the dog anymore. The complainant alleged that among other things the owner had poured boiling water over the dog.”

The SPCA’s statement adds that inspector Lycinda Visser went to the address that was given to them.

“She knocked and knocked but there was no answer. As with all the houses in that area, there is no fencing and the house was located on a busy thoroughfare so inspector Lycinda Visser walked around the house to see where the puppy was.”

What Visser saw in the area adjacent to the house nearly broke her heart.

“A labrador cross puppy was tied up on a very short chain with no shelter or water near it. The puppy was in dire need of help and inspector Visser could see burn wounds on the puppy from where she was standing. There were people there and inspector Visser asked where the owner was. They said he wasn’t there and inspector Visser informed them that she was going to take the puppy.”

The statement adds that when Visser first made contact with the little pup, it cowered and cried out when she started removing the chain.

“The little thing was so scared it wet itself. Inspector Visser removed the pup and was making her way to her vehicle when suddenly the front door of the house was flung open and a crazed man stormed her. He grabbed the pup out of her hands, threw it 2m up in the air against the house wall and slammed inspector Visser’s face into the wall. He was full of rage and there was no way she could have a conversation with him. His mother came out and tried to diffuse the situation but didn’t succeed. Desperate times called for desperate measures and as this is not inspector Visser’s first rodeo, she kept her wits about her, grabbed the pup and fled to the safety of her vehicle.”

The puppy was taken to Three Rivers Veterinary Clinic for a full checkup, where she stayed for two days.

Her tail had to be amputated on Tuesday morning as the suspect had tied an elastic band around her tail and it was highly infected.

The puppy’s body shows signs of continuous abuse.