A Perth man has been jailed for nine months after leaving 105 dogs on his puppy farm without adequate food or water in 40C heat, with 22 animals later euthanised.
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animals → jail → heat
Jia Xu Dong, 41, was sentenced in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being convicted of 36 animal cruelty offences in July last year.
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Dong → sentence → July
RSPCA WA discovered the condition of the puppy farm at a Canning Vale property in December 2024 after some of the dogs escaped while Dong was reportedly in Albany for 10 days.
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Dong → discover → days
'The dogs at the farm included groodles, golden retrievers, corgis, French bulldogs, cocker spaniels and other mixed breeds,' the RSPCA said.
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RSPCA → include → groodles
'Many had wounds from dog fights, dental issues, severely matted coats, untreated medical conditions... and displayed fearful behaviour consistent with prolonged neglect.'
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Many → display → neglect
On another occasion, Dong travelled to China for two months and, while he was away, 65 puppies were reportedly born.
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puppies → travel → months
The RSPCA added that, when they were rescued, 'it became clear many of the dogs were profoundly shut down and fearful of people, likely due to limited or no positive human interaction'.
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many → add → interaction
'They exhibited stressful behaviours including staring at kennel walls for hours, being unable to be handled and, in some cases, chewing the concrete walls of their kennels,' it said.
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it → exhibit → kennels
Jia Xu Dong will spend 9 months behind bars
Many of the dogs showed signs of psychological distress, including staring at walls for hours
Dong initially refused to surrender the dogs unless they were paid for by the RSPCA
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they → spend → RSPCA
Physically, many of the dogs displayed conditions including severe matting, embedded grass seeds, skin lesions and abscesses, ruptured ear drums, dental disease, dehydration, and gastrointestinal illnesses.'
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many → display → matting
About 80 per cent of the dogs that survived the ordeal have since been re-homed, according to the RSPCA.
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that → survive → RSPCA
Dong, a Chinese national who moved to Australia when he was 13 years old, was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment after being convicted of 36 animal cruelty offences.
He was also fined $5,000 for breaching orders by selling a golden retriever puppy despite being ordered to forfeit it in August 2025.
Magistrate Sandra De Maio described Dong as a 'devious and dishonest individual' who repeatedly lied and called his actions 'abhorrent and undoubtedly cruel'.
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who → move → actions
'His story changes like the tides.
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story → change → tides
I simply do not believe a word he says,' she told the court.
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she → believe → court
Magistrate De Maio added that Dong claimed to be a 'hapless lover of dogs who sold puppies accidentally born' when in fact he was running a large-scale puppy farm.
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he → add → farm
The court heard that Dong had bred potentially more than 390 puppies over four years, earning up to $1.17million from his sales.
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Dong → hear → sales
RSPCA workers attempt to help one of the dogs
Many of the rescued dogs have since been re-homed
More than 100 dogs were left without adequate food or water during temperatures exceeding 40C
'
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dogs → attempt → 40C
He left [the dogs] to suffer in appalling conditions … he [was] uncaring of their welfare and indifferent to their pain … they suffered greatly for most of their lives,' De Maio said.
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Maio → leave → lives
She said he was 'uncaring of their welfare and indifferent to their pain...
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he → say → pain
(he) failed them entirely in all aspects of their care'.
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he → fail → care
The court heard Dong treated some of the dogs' wounds with honey and initially refused to surrender the animals unless he was compensated for them, 7News reported.
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7News → hear → them
Speaking outside the court on Wednesday, RSPCA senior inspector Jayde Palin said it was 'heartwarming' that some of the dogs could be saved.
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some → speak → dogs
'Where you walk into a house and there's just a mass number of dogs that are all suffering, desirable breeds, that people pay a lot of money for these dogs, you would expect them to be well cared for,' she said.
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she → walk → dogs
'Knowing that there are 70 to 80 per cent of dogs that I have helped that are now in the homes they've deserved ever since they were born, living their best lives or trying to live as normally as possible, I think that makes the job worthwhile.'
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job → know → lives
In addition to his prison sentence, Dong is banned from owning or breeding animals for life.
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Dong → ban → life
The Aporia
