A man who left his German Shepherd to die in his ute during a wild night out at a brothel, before leading a viral campaign to find the 'stolen' dog, appears to have been abandoned by his wife.
Nathan McKeown, 43, broke down in tears at Cleveland Magistrate's Court on Thursday when it was heard that his beloved family dog, Arnie, was left in a car in Brisbane for ten days with no access to food, water or ventilation.
Just two months ago, he was telling media Arnie had been kidnapped by car thieves while sleeping in the back of his ute outside a friend's home in Wynnum, and offering a $6000 reward for his safe return.
Together with his unsuspecting wife, he create a social media campaign that captured the hearts of Australians who rallied to support the family and slammed 'heartless' robbers who captured an innocent pet.
McKeown was actively telling media outlets, including the Daily Mail, 'it would absolutely mean the world' to have Arnie back and thanked the public for their ongoing support.
But McKeown knew the car hadn't been stolen at all - he was just too inebriated to recall where it was parked, and he couldn't tell his wife because he booked a sex worker that night, the Daily Mail previously revealed.
In court on Thursday, Magistrate Deborah Vasta said McKeown's lie that his ute had been stolen 'snowballed from one bad decision to another', escalating when his wife lodged a police report and the 'find Arnie' campaign went viral.
His parents flew from the UK to support their now unemployed son, but McKeown's wife - the mother of his child - was nowhere to be seen.
The situation unfolded at 2.30pm on November 7 when McKeown got home from work and placed Arnie in the ute, under an enclosed canopy, and drove to a number of locations, including a liquor store, the court heard.
He had a fight with a family member and drank at hotels around the Manly area while Arnie was locked inside the car.
CCTV showed him repeatedly leaving the vehicle to enter licensed venues, before returning to the car and driving off.
He continued drinking and taking drugs while driving through Brisbane CBD, until he parked on Amelia Street in Fortitude Valley at about 10.45pm.
Further CCTV showed a very drunk McKeown taking Arnie out of the ute for a few minutes, before locking him back inside and staggering off, the court heard.
He then entered a brothel, about 4km from Amelia Street, and was eventually asked to leave because he was 'extremely intoxicated and belligerent'.
The venue owner previously told the Daily Mail: 'He came in and booked a lady and stayed with that lady.'
'We found it difficult to remove him and all he could talk about was that he had lost his car, but there was no talk of his dog [being inside it].'
'The girl told him to report it stolen, then he called his wife and said it had been taken.'
She said McKeown left on his own accord, and CCTV showed him returning to the business between 3am and 3.30am, but no staff member would see him.
He didn't return to his car that night.
By the following day, McKeown had forgotten where he parked the car and reiterated the lie to his wife that the car had been stolen.
Ten days later, on November 17, Arnie’s body was uncovered when a member of the public complained about a foul stench coming from the parked ute in Fortitude Valley.
He was initially charged with breaching the duty of care to an animal, but the charge was later upgraded to one count of injuring animals (causing injury or death) by night under the Criminal Code.
Further charges included three counts of driving motor vehicle without a driver licence demerit points, and one count each of did drive under the influence, and serious obstruct police.
He pleaded guilty to every charge.
McKeown (pictured with Arnie) pleaded guilty to a range of charges, including driving a motor vehicle without a driver licence demerit points and while under the influence
Arnie's disappearance and death touched the hearts of thousands of Australians who hoped for his safe return home
His lawyer Patrick Quinn told the court his client loved Arnie, who had been a member of the McKeown family from when he was a puppy, and did not intentionally kill the dog.
Mr Quinn told the court his client was receiving alcohol rehabilitation, and acknowledged the outcome would have been different had he told the truth.
'He wanted to sincerely thank the police and the community for their extensive search for Arnie,' Mr Quinn said.
'He understands that had he been forthright from the start that those resources could have been employed in an appropriate, more focused manner.'
Magistrate Vasta said McKeown, who had no criminal history, lost his job due to security concerns, along with the trust of his wife and daughter.
'Australian people really don't like people who lie and the public were quite rightly betrayed and manipulated and used by you - for nine days they were out looking for your dog,' she said.
'But what has occurred is that there are some people out there who have used your stupid and terrible mistake as justification for some really intensive hatred.'
McKeown was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, with no convictions recorded, and disqualified from driving for eight months on the three driving offences.