BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is hearing the controversial case of “Tipper,” a 14-year-old cockapoo who died in 2021.
His owner, Mary Ann Russo, called him “an absolute joy.”
Russo says she brought Tipper to the South Shore Animal Hospital twice after he developed a large tumor. The vet recommended surgery after that first visit but Russo declined. When she took the dog for a second visit, Tipper’s prognosis turned more grim.
“She wanted to euthanize him over the cellphone and I panicked and I ran up there to go and grab him,” she recalled.
Russo once again refused the vet’s recommendation, this time saying she would take her dog elsewhere to be put down.
But the vet didn’t believe her and filed a complaint with the Animal Rescue League.
“He was eating like a horse, drinking everything, he was recovering,” Russo said.
When a Rescue League officer went to Russo’s home in Weymouth to check on the dog, he reported Tipper appeared to be dying and was not receiving his prescribed pain medication.
That’s when the ARL got a court order to seize the dog and euthanized him.
Prosecutors say Russo knew the dog was suffering and didn’t do enough to help him but a judge dismissed her case, claiming the state had no evidence Russo was cruel to her dog. An appeals court agreed, leaving it up to the Supreme Judicial Court to decide if she should stand trial.
The high court is now honing in on how state law defines animal cruelty, saying there must be “willful” actions taken.
Russo’s attorney said, “The dog was well fed it was well taken care of it was taken to the vet it was loved it was the center of their family. the only issue in this case a disagreement as to whether or not to euthanize the dog.”
The court has taken the case under advisement and did not issue a ruling Wednesday.
It’s unclear when that will happen.
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