Sherri Haughton was charged with life-endangering animal neglect, failure to care for an animal, animal abandonment and interfering with the duties of an animal control officer, all misdemeanors, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Malone said Wednesday.
Haughton took the dog, named Henry by rescuers, to an animal hospital on May 12 allegedly claiming he was a stray.
The huge growth on Henry's ride side, which weighed 46 lb, was pushing on his right leg, preventing him from walking properly or even being able to lift his leg to relieve himself, KTLA reported.
Haughton was not arrested, but is scheduled to appear in court on January 13. She faces up to two years in Orange County jail.
Police revealed that Haughton pretended to have found Henry when she took him to AAA Animal Hospital in Huntington Beach in May, saying she had found him wandering around the beach, My News LA reported.
Valerie Schomburg, a Newport Beach animal-control supervisor, told KTLA at the time: 'Most vets that we've asked and have been involved in his story have never seen (a tumor) that big.'
Officials determined Henry to be about eight-years-old and believe he was a pet at some point, but had been dumped by his owners. At the time however it seemed he had been dumped on the beach, not at the hospital.
Despite the complications involved with removing the tumor, vets decided he was strong enough to undergo surgery, which was completed on June 1.
'You can't keep him down,' Schomburg said.
The surgery, which would have cost thousands of dollars, was covered by donations from the public.
'It's very shocking that (the tumor) got that big and that someone wouldn't do the right thing,' Schomburg said.
'Whoever did this to Henry might have to answer to it.'
(Daily Mail - Dec 15, 2016)
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