A Chicago woman says a veterinarian performed the wrong procedure on her dog. Instead of the scheduled teeth cleaning, she said her dog ended up being spayed.
“I know mistakes happen, but this was a big mistake,” Ashley Martin Jenkins of Woodlawn said.
Martin Jenkins said her dog Savannah got the wrong procedure done Monday at Banfield Pet Hospital on Western near 95th Street in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.
She showed NBC Chicago the Banfield calendar reminder message for the teeth cleaning, as well as the aftercare instructions and medicine she received after Savannah was spayed by mistake.
“I’m floored, I’m like flabbergasted. I’m like, ‘What do you mean she got spayed?'” Martin Jenkins said. “I literally dropped her off for you to be in her mouth, and you took out her uterus and ovaries.”
Martin Jenkins and her family said they 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.”
Martin Jenkins said she doesn’t want what happened to Savannah to ever happen to any other dog.
“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,” Martin Jenkins said. “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?”
A Banfield spokesperson said in a statement that it has “existing measures in place to prevent errors” and is investigating this case.
“At Banfield, the health, safety, and wellbeing of pets is our top priority, and we’re committed to providing high-quality care to the millions of pets we see every year,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to NBC Chicago. “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.”
“We are taking this matter seriously and working directly with the Martin family to address their questions and concerns, as well as extend our sincere apologies,” the statement continued. “We are glad to hear Savannah is recovering well and remain committed to providing and covering the cost of any related care.”