Pet owner jailed for throwing dog from top floor of multi-storey car park says she did the animal ‘a favour’
CCTV footage has shown the moment a dog owner threw her Maltese Shih Tzu off the top of a multi-storey car park in Australia.
The dog, named Princess, had to be put down after she was taken to a vet by a passerby who found the animal in the car park of the Westfield Whitford City shopping centre in Perth, western Australia, in April 2022.
The passerby assumed the 10-year-old dog, which fell nine metres, had been hit by a car due to the seriousness of its injuries – which included possible internal haemorrhaging, brain injury, and spinal and pelvic trauma.
Amy Judge, the 26-year-old owner of the dog, was jailed for 12 months on Tuesday and banned from owning an animal for 10 years.
She admitted throwing her dog from the top storey of the car park in the weeks after the attack and said she “did her a favour because all I did was hurt her and abuse her”.
Judge, from Clarkson in Perth, wrote: “I can’t live with the guilt, I threw my dog off the top story (sic) of a shopping centre car park and watched her fall to her death but she survived and needed to be put down due to how badly I injured her.”
The post, which attracted 112 comments, continues: “I killed my dog and I need the truth out in the open… it’s tearing me apart I can’t live with the lies anymore… I did her a favour because all I did was hurt her and abuse her.”
She adds: “Now everybody knows the truth and I can put my mind at ease knowing I no longer have to live with all the lies.”
Amy Judge and her dog Princess
Scott Frost, her 23-year-old partner, who was present during the incident, was fined 2,500 Australian dollars and banned from owning animals for three years for failing to seek veterinary care for Princess.
CCTV footage played in court shows Judge appearing to argue with Frost, repeatedly dangling Princess over the side of the roof, and allowing the animal to walk along the roof edge for around eight minutes.
The footage then shows Judge throwing Princess off the roof.
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A ‘planned, deliberate and intentional act’
A vet later checked Princess’s microchip and contacted Judge, who was listed as her owner.
Judge went to the veterinary practice with Frost to discuss the extent of the dog’s injuries and the cost of treatment, ultimately deciding to have her put down.
In sentencing, Magistrate Mark Millington said Judge had left Princess for dead in what he described as a “planned, deliberate, and intentional act”.
Kylie Green, inspector manager at the RSPCA in Western Australia, described the incident as the “most distressing” she had seen in her 11 years on the job.
She added it was a “callous and extremely confronting display of animal cruelty”.
Judge was jailed for 10 months for throwing her dog over the ledge and two months for unrelated incidents.
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
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So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.
Donald Trump will introduce a new $100,000 application fee for foreign worker visas.
A White House official said the US President is preparing to sign a proclamation today that will require a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visa, which covers highly-skilled foreign workers.
The charge is part of a broader immigration crackdown.
H-1B visas are meant to bring the best and brightest foreigners for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill with qualified Americans and other permanent residents.
The programme has drawn criticism for becoming a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for wages lower than those typically paid to US technology workers. Critics also argue that companies use H-1B visas to overlook Americans for jobs.
First lady Melania Trump, the former Melania Knauss, was granted an H1-B work visa in October 1996 to work as a model. She was born in Slovenia.
What is a H-1B visa?
The H-1B programme has been crucial for technology and staffing companies who rely on foreign workers.
Historically, these visas – 85,000 per year – have been doled out through a lottery system.
Donald Trump will introduce the charge as part of an immigration crackdown
India, the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounted for 71% of approved beneficiaries.
China was second with 11.7%, according to government data.
Shares of IT services company, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, fell by over 5% on Friday.
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