A man has been sentenced for failing to provide veterinary treatment for his dog after it was found wandering suffering from cancerous lesions on its face, nose and mouth.
Michael Morehu was sentenced in the Hutt Valley District Court today after he failed to listen to veterinary advice and put his sick dog down.
Morehu had earlier pleaded guilty to mistreating the animal.
His dog, Zeus, a male husky crossbreed was found wandering the streets in July 2018 suffering from cancerous lesions on his face, nose and mouth.
The SPCA's chief executive, Andrea Midgen, said the emaciated dog's face was significantly disfigured when it was picked up by Animal Control.
She said a vet found a large cancerous mass in its muzzle which was affecting the eye socket, the jawbone and the nasal cavity, and there was a second mass inside its mouth.
The dog, Zeus, was very thin, most likely due to chronic illness and not being able to eat because of the pain caused by the growths.
"Zeus suffered greatly as his cancer eventually overwhelmed him," she said.
Ms Midgen said the tumours had been allowed to progress unmanaged for an unreasonable amount of time, to the point where the dog's pain could not be mitigated by any other method than euthanasia.
The man told the SPCA he knew in 2016 that Zeus should be euthanised but he did not go through with it couldn't afford the procedure, and because of his attachment to the dog.
"He understood that the dog was dying and was in pain. It's so sad because I think he didn't want to lose his life-long friend, but was thinking more about his own requirements rather than the dog's.
"It's sad for both of them," she said.
