The woman was fined $1,000 for 'inflicting unnecessary cruelty on a living creature,' a Border Collie, in North Hanover.
NORTH HANOVER -- A 20-year-old township woman was recently convicted of animal cruelty for not properly treating her dog's broken leg, humane police said.
The Burlington County SPCA Humane Police said they were tipped off Oct. 30 about a Border Collie that had been to a local veterinarian four days prior for a broken leg.
At that time, x-rays showed the broken leg needed either a rod inserted or an amputation, the department said in a statement. Police posted an x-ray on their Facebook page to show the injury's severity.
The injuries's severity was exacerbated by the time elapsed between the break and the time the owner south treatment, police said.
Against medical advice, the owner took the dog home without treatment or pain medication, although the hospital gave the owner samples of pain medication.
Hospital staffers helped the woman fill out paperwork for charity care due to the cost of the surgery, police said.
The owner did not show for scheduled surgery on the dog Nov. 2, and multiple follow-up attempts to contact the owner also failed, police said.
The humane police did speak to the owner on the day of the missed surgery and the owner said the dog was fine. Additional attempts to contact the owner by humane police officers, with township police, also failed.
The humane police department charged the owner on Nov. 3 with "inflicting unnecessary cruelty on a living creature" for failing to provide proper medical treatment for her dog's broken leg. The woman's name was not made public.
On Nov. 5, the surgery was performed and the dog was being treated by the animal hospital, police said.
The owner was later found guilty of the cruelty charge and fined $1,000 in court, police said.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.