A woman from Chicago says that a veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital spayed her dog instead of the teeth cleaning the dog was scheduled for on Monday, August 05.
The dog’s owner, Ashley Martin Jenkins, tells NBC Chicago, “I know mistakes happen, but this was a big mistake.”
She said she was “flabbergasted” of the mistake. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean she got spayed?’ I literally dropped her off for you to be in her mouth, and you took out her uterus and ovaries.”
The dog owner showed NBC Chicago the animal hospital’s calendar reminder message proving that her dog, Savannah, was indeed scheduled for teeth cleaning.
Along with this, she also showed the aftercare instructions and medicines she received after the spaying procedure was done.
Martin Jenkins says she doesn’t want other dog parents and their pets to experience the same thing as them.
She said, “I think some responsibility needs to be taken, and I think they need to have better protocols in place so that this doesn’t happen again.”
“What if it was more severe? What if she was like, it was like another surgery? What if she was scheduled to be put to sleep?”
In a statement written by a Banfield spokesperson to NBC Chicago, the animal hospital said they are investigating Savannah’s case.
They wrote, “Banfield has existing measures in place to prevent errors from happening and we’re thoroughly investigating what occurred. All other patients in the hospital received the intended care they were scheduled for.”
Furthermore, they said that they’re working directly with Savannah’s family to address the concerns and to also apologize.
They wrote, “We are glad to hear Savannah is recovering well and remain committed to providing and covering the cost of any related care.”
Martin Jenkins tells NBC Chicago that she and her family never wanted their 10-year-old Cavapoo to be spayed.
“I happened to see a dog that just got spayed, and the stitches were like horrendous, like they were big,” Martin Jenkins said. “It just looked like the dog was in pain. I was like never, no.”
