Lower Hutt man Ronan Apiti sentenced for beating and disfiguring family dog

Ronan Apiti, a 24-year-old man from Lower Hutt, was sentenced for animal cruelty after severely beating his family dog, Buck, resulting in permanent disfigurement. In the Hutt Valley District Court, Judge Russell Collins sentenced Apiti to 12 months of supervision and 60 hours of community work, along with a five-year ban on owning or caring for dogs. Apiti expressed remorse for his actions, describing the dog as one of his children and attempting to justify his behavior by stating, “that’s how they do it in the West Coast.”

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