A woman told a court she strangled her dog with a belt and smothered her cat to put the animals 'out of their misery' after claiming they were abused by her partner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sharntelle Cartwright pleaded guilty at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, appearing via video link, to killing the animals.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Mitch Prewett said Cartwright and her partner had been in a relationship for eight months.
The court heard Cartwright told the man she was going to have a shower and returned after 10 minutes with scratches and grazes on her arms.
The man asked what had happened and Cartwright said she had killed their Staffordshire dog Dozer.
The man found the dog in the compost bin.
Cartwright had used a belt to strangle the dog.
Two days later on March 25, 2020 Cartwright cuddled her cat on the bed until it was relaxed and then suffocated it with a pillow until it died.
She told her partner she had Dozer for longer than the cat and it 'was not right' to let her live.
Cartwright put the cat in a plastic bag in the rubbish bin.
The man found blood on her bed sheets.
Cartwright told police herself, her son and her dog had been abused by her partner to the point where the dog would urinate on the floor when anyone went near it.
She said she could not think of any other way to put the dog 'out of his misery'.
Senior Constable Prewett submitted imprisonment was an appropriate sentence as Cartwright had been sentenced for aggravated cruelty to an animal in 2014.
"The accused intentionally acted to kill two domestic animals... animals that trusted the accused to provide for their needs," he said.
Senior Constable Prewett said a sentence of imprisonment would address punishment, general and specific deterrence, denunciation and protection of animals in the community.
A defence lawyer said Cartwright strangled the dog as an act of kindness to put it out of its misery and was experiencing severe mental ill-health when she smothered her cat.
Magistrate Tim Walsh said he accepted Cartwright was not in her 'right mind' and was at her 'wits end' at the time of the offending.
He referred to the family violence situation as a 'psychological prison'.
"Prison is within range... but it seems you are on the road of rehabilitation," Mr Walsh said.
Cartwright was convicted and fined $2500 and prohibited from owning or being in charge of any domestic animal for eight years.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.