The Massachusetts Supreme Court is taking up a difficult case that could affect any pet owner.
The Supreme Court of Justice is considering whether failing to euthanize a dying pet is a crime.
The case centers on a Weymouth woman and her 14-year-old dog Tipper. Mary Ann Russo discovered her dog had a large tumor in 2020, and although she took him to the vet twice, she did not follow the vet's recommendation to euthanize it. She said they took her home.
“I said I would take care of it, but I want the tipper to stay home for a little while to enjoy life a little bit,” Russo said. “I wanted him to at least have his loving family around him instead of lying on a cold table surrounded by strangers.”
Russo said the dog is recovering at home, but the veterinarian filed a complaint with the Animal Protection League. When police officers came to the house to check on the dog, they found it was barely breathing.
They eventually obtained a warrant to euthanize the dog.
“We were keeping his legs strong and they just took him and euthanized him. It was horrible,” Russo said.
Prosecutors said Tipper was in uncontrollable pain and that Russo intentionally allowed the pain to continue. It also said Russo failed to take appropriate steps to alleviate the pain.
“Death is inevitable for all living things, but suffering and pain are not,” Assistant District Attorney Tracy Cusick said at a hearing this week.
After the criminal charges were dismissed by lower courts and the Court of Appeals, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will now decide whether to take the case to trial. A judge will have to decide whether Russo intentionally caused the dog unnecessary suffering by failing to euthanize it.
“Don't we have to interpret 'willful' as written in the law to mean that she must intend for her to suffer?” Judge Scott Kafker asked during the hearing.
The court heard the case upon recommendation. It is unclear when a verdict will be handed down. If the case is determined to have a chance of going to trial, Massachusetts would become the first state in the nation to consider failing to euthanize a terminally ill pet a violation of animal cruelty.
If that happens, Russo could face prison time, but she hopes the court will recognize her as an animal lover and not an abuser.
“I know I'm doing the right thing for Tipper and all the animals like him because I should have been informed and I should have had a say in this whole process. I should have had it,” Russo said.
