A Florida dog groomer who posed as a veterinarian has been arrested after a Chihuahua he performed a caesarean section on died post-surgery.
The illicit procedure happened on May 18, according to a Facebook post made by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. The six-year-old Chihuahua, Sugar, was having difficulty delivering puppies when her owners contacted Osvaldo Sanchez, a man who had been previously been introduced to them as a veterinarian.
According to the post, Sanchez visited the owners’ home in his “mobile office, a converted ambulance.” He examined Sugar, spayed the six-pound dog, and then proceeded to perform a C-section to remove a stillborn puppy. Sanchez charged the owners $600 for the surgery.
Following the procedure, Sugar fell ill from infection and spent a week in the care of a licensed veterinary clinic, authorities say. The dog was described to be in “dire shape.”
On May 25, a week after the surgery, Sugar was taken to a 24-hour emergency pet hospital for an ultrasound. Doctors noted her “surgical incision was closed with string or thread and not the standard suture material,” which could have contributed to her infection.
Sugar returned to the veterinary clinic the same day and later died from multiple post-surgical complications.
According to the sheriff’s office, a doctor at the emergency hospital told detectives that “a C-section is not an uncommon surgery on pregnant dogs,” and “had a qualified veterinarian performed the procedure on Sugar, she likely would have survived.”
“Pets’ lives are at risk if unlicensed individuals perform surgery, prescribe medication, and claim to provide needed care,” Sheriff Rambosk of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office says. “Such individuals who believe they can operate outside the law will be arrested and held accountable.”