Forensic examination of a dog's corpse with signs of violent death: A case review

Abstract

Increasingly, in the media, social networks, we encounter reports of cruelty to animals by companions, which led to their injury or death. Animal cruelty in Ukraine and all over the world, unfortunately, still remains an urgent problem. In this regard, forensic investigators ask veterinary experts questions that are aimed at assessing the severity of the damage, the mechanism of their formation and establishing the cause of death of the animal. According to the pre-trial investigation and the forensic veterinary examination results of the corpse of a dog, which was conducted at the request of investigative authorities in the inquiry of a criminal offense on the grounds of a crime under Part 1. Article. 299 of the Criminal code of Ukraine, the open craniocerebral trauma of a head of a dog with multiple fractures of the facial bones is established. The left eyeball is missing. There is a rupture of the muscular base and the mucous membrane of the tip of the tongue. Open fracture of the mandible with the discrepancy between the symphysis of the right and left arches. During the necropsy, it was noted that the subcutaneous tissue contains a small amount of fat, skeletal muscle is moderately developed, the stomach is empty and the dog's corpse is exhausted. Which indicates that the dog has spent a loong time without proper care of the pet owner. A torn-scalped wound with signs of purulent inflammation and the presence of fly larvae was noted in the head area, which may indicate that the process is 3–7 days old. Extensive left hemorrhage in the meninges of the frontal area and generalized cerebral edema caused by momentary action of a mechanical factor, a blow in the lateral direction were observed during the study of the brain. Traumatic injuries found on the dog's corpse have a lifetime character and are in a direct causal relationship between the injuries and the cause of death of the animal.