{"id":922054,"date":"2026-10-09T16:56:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922054\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T16:56:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:56:19","slug":"busselton-couple-jailed-for-torturing-puppy-to-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922054\/","title":{"rendered":"Busselton couple jailed for torturing puppy to death"},"content":{"rendered":"

A West Australian couple who fatally tortured a puppy have been jailed.<\/p>\n

Warning: This story contains descriptions of animal abuse, which some readers may find distressing.<\/p>\n

Nathan James Dekkers and Isabel Maree Busher, both 26, admitted to torturing the bull terrier, Douglas, in Busselton in late 2024.<\/p>\n

Facing the Bunbury Magistrates Court on Friday for sentencing, Dekkers was handed an 11-month jail term, and Busher was jailed for eight months.<\/p>\n

The pair have also been permanently banned from owning another animal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Dekkers and Busher had previously pleaded guilty to more than a dozen animal cruelty charges, including beating and tormenting the puppy and lying to RSPCA investigators.<\/p>\n

They were due to be sentenced in May,<\/a> but that was adjourned for Busher to undergo more psychiatric assessment.<\/p>\n

Neighbours reported cruelty<\/p>\n

The court heard the pair purchased the eight-week-old bull terrier puppy from a breeder in November 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A neighbour overheard the couple abusing the dog on multiple occasions between December 8 and 23 and recorded audio of the incidents, which they later handed over to authorities.<\/p>\n

While the tapes were not played in court, they were said to have captured the puppy’s terrified whimpers and yelps as he was beaten and taunted.<\/p>\n

\"Dark<\/p>\n

Busher and Dekkers tortured and killed 14-week-old puppy Douglas in 2024. (Supplied: RSPCA)<\/p>\n

On one occasion, an audio recording captured Douglas being strangled, while Busher taunted the puppy by growling and yelling at him.<\/p>\n

On December 23, the couple was observed by neighbours driving off in a vehicle, returning about an hour later, with Douglas never seen again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RSPCA inspectors and police attended the property that day, where they observed a yard that was small and fully paved, with a build-up of dog faeces and dried blood on the pavement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The court heard the pair at first told authorities they had taken the puppy to a family member’s farm; however, the relative later denied the claim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Sadistic and cruel’<\/p>\n

Busher’s defence lawyer Michelle Huber submitted there was no planning that had gone into Douglas’ harm, but acknowledged the poor behaviour.<\/p>\n

RSPCA prosecutor Ruby Harris described the offending as callous and wicked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The conduct was unwarranted, sadistic and cruel,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Bunbury<\/p>\n

The pair were sentenced at the Bunbury Magistrates Court. (ABC South West: Gian De Poloni)<\/p>\n

In his decision, Magistrate Stephen Butcher said that while Dekkers was the one to strangle and slap the dog on at least one occasion, both were equally culpable in their offending.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said he took into account intense community backlash toward the pair, including harassment they faced while attending court.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged a psychiatric assessment of Busher; however, he said it did not explain her offending.<\/p>\n

“Her psychological profile explains some of the circumstances that have arisen here, but it doesn’t excuse it,” he said.<\/p>\n

Authorities welcome decision<\/p>\n

Outside court, RSPCA inspector Genna Haines welcomed the decision.<\/p>\n

\"Genna<\/p>\n

Genna Haines spoke outside court in Bunbury. (ABC South West WA: Georgia Loney)<\/p>\n

Ms Haines said it was one of the worst cases of animal cruelty she had seen in her career.<\/p>\n

“We’re pleased with the sentencing; the court has recognised the level of cruelty here,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The pain and terror Douglas was experiencing throughout the seven recorded beatings is evident.”<\/p>\n

Busher and Dekkers will be eligible for parole after serving half their sentences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A West Australian couple who fatally tortured a puppy have been jailed. Warning: This story contains descriptions of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[13329,64,63,60640,234786,489809,194078,44,28721,45],"class_list":["post-922054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-animal-cruelty","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bunbury-magistrates-court","tag-busselton","tag-douglas-the-puppy-dog","tag-jail-sentence","tag-news","tag-rspca","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}