Pet choked to death

Animal welfare officers are investigating the death of a pet dog found beaten and strangled.

SPCA inspectors have interviewed a 36-year-old man after his fiancee's fox terrier Geegee was found dead in the backyard of their Auckland home.

Criminal charges are expected to be laid against the man, after a neighbour alerted animal welfare authorities last week. An autopsy on the dog confirmed it had been severely beaten, according to the man's partner, who asked not to be named. The couple have since split.

She was so devastated by the death of Geegee, her pet for 12 years, that she had since undergone grief counselling. MORE>>