Zeus after he was found by the SPCA in 2018. Photo / Supplied
Zeus after he was found by the SPCA in 2018. Photo / Supplied
The SPCA has prosecuted a man for failing to provide care for his dog with cancer, even after a vet recommended the dog should be euthanised.
Michael Morehu was sentenced today in the Hutt Valley District Court to 170 hours of community work, disqualified from owning animals for five years and ordered to pay $527 of reparations.
He had pleaded guilty at an earlier appearance.
Morehu owned a male husky crossbreed called Zeus.
In July 2018, Zeus was found roaming and picked up by an Animal Control Officer, who alerted the SPCA that Zeus had a significant facial disfigurement and was very thin.
An SPCA inspector took Zeus for a veterinary examination, where a large mass measuring 10cm was located in the muzzle, which had caused a hole to open in the roof of the dog's mouth and affected both the eye socket and jawbone.
Zeus after he was found by the SPCA in 2018. Photo / Supplied
The hole would have allowed food to pass into the nasal cavity every time Zeus tried to eat.
The mass also displaced Zeus' left eye, minimising his vision.
Another mass was found inside his mouth, which had degraded the bone in his upper gum to the point teeth were no longer rooted to the bone and were instead "floating".
The SPCA said Zeus was in an emaciated body condition, which was most likely the result of a combination of wastage due to chronic illness and malnutrition from the inability to eat.
Zeus had to be euthanised due to the pain and distress from the cancerous masses.
When interviewed by the SPCA, Morehu said he recalled the vet recommending euthanasia as far back as September 2016.
He declined because he couldn't afford it and because of his attachment to Zeus.
He said he knew Zeus was in pain and had difficulty eating.
Andrea Midgen, SPCA's chief executive, said it was "unfathomable" that Zeus' owner knew of his suffering and chose not to intervene.
"It is never easy to make the decision to put a pet down due to old age or poor health. But in this case, it is hard to understand why Zeus' owner allowed him to continue living in such an intolerably painful way for so long."
