Photos of a dog with five different tattoos on its mouth, ears and face have caused a social media outcry in Brazil. 

The man believed to be the dog's owner, Emerson Damasceno, initially hit back at critics by claiming the tattoos would protect the pooch from cancer. Mr Damasceno, a tattoo artist by profession, subsequently deleted the photos as well as his social media profiles. 

He and his girlfriend had first claimed that the dog was tattooed after being seen by vets at a veterinary school in Posos de Caldas, a city in Brazil's southeast, the Mirror reported.

The school denied the claims and said it did not condone dogs being tattooed.