May. 25, 2012

Twelve-year-old Damon Boyer-Marwood was walking home from school Thursday when he heard an animal cry, so he followed the sound. When he came upon a group of kids holding down a small female dog and taking turns kicking it and beating it with a cricket bat, Damon told the boys to take a hike.
“They stood there for a bit, then they ran inside,” he said.
A microchip scan by the New Zealand SPCA enabled the battered dog to be reunited with owner Sosefina Leota, who insisted on meeting Damon. “I want to thank him from my heart,” she said. “I want to know his face.”
No doubt Damon saved the dog’s life. Said his grandmother: “It makes you wonder what would have happened if he didn’t step in.”
SPCA inspector Kaycee Polkinghorne said an investigation is under way. “Because of the ages, there’s not a lot we can do prosecution-wise, but it does reinforce the importance of having education in schools about things like this,” she said. “You just have to to wonder what’s going on to make them think this is acceptable behavior.”
[lifewithdogs]