A SHAMELESS vet stole a cat she was supposed to put down and left the owners thinking their pet was dead.
Dr Janine Parody said she could “not face another euthanasia” after already carrying out the procedure on three other animals that day.
Janine Parody stole a cat she was supposed to put down and left the owners thinking their pet was dead[/caption]
Before stealing the cat, Dr Parody sedated, neutered, and removed its microchip before installing a new one[/caption]
The veterinarian claimed she believed the “happy” feline, called Shadow, could be restored back to health and decided to take it home with her.
Before stealing the cat, Dr Parody sedated, neutered, and removed its microchip before installing a new one.
She told a disciplinary hearing the owners would “be none the wiser” and did not wish to keep the pet anyway.
Dr Parody has since been found guilty of disgraceful conduct.
The heartbroken owner said she “grieved for his little soul” after having just recently welcomed him into her family.
The elation upon discovering her pet was still alive was short lived after the woman was asked to fork out nearly £500 for the procedures carried out by Dr Parody.
The original owner, named only as SM, paid £480 in treatment fees to nurse the feline back to health.
A tribunal heard the woman who regularly rescued cats took ownership of the cat but soon decided it would be best to have him put down.
The cat was “very sick” with MRSA, was thin, and had facial injuries when SM took it in back in December 2021.
An appointment was then made for Dr Parody at the Castle Veterinary Group in Framlingham, Suffolk to put Shadow down.
Dr Parody, a single mother with two dogs and two cats at home, added Shadow to the family over Christmas of that same year.
After returning to work after the festive period, a receptionist questioned Shadow’s records as there was no record of it being officially put down.
Dr Parody admitted the cat was alive and had been keeping it at her home.
I had already done back-to-back euthanasias that morning as mentioned and upon seeing a happy young cat, I just could not face another euthanasia
Dr Janine Parody
The vets then told SM that her cat was still alive and had been returned to the practice to be picked up.
The shocked woman headed back to get her cat on December 31.
Dr Parody resigned and an investigation was launched.
The tribunal heard that by late February the cat underwent further surgeries but remained seriously sick.
SM made the tough decision to once again put Shadow down days later.
She told the tribunal she had suffered unnecessarily along with the feline due to Dr Parody’s actions to keep the cat alive.
The cat’s owner did say that she felt the vet was working under “extraordinarily stressful circumstances” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When Dr Parody spoke to the panel she revealed she was “ready to euthanise” Shadow up until the moment she walked into the consulting room.
She said the “sweet young cat appeared healthy apart from his skin condition” leading her to make the choice to take it home.
The vet added: “I had already done back-to-back euthanasias that morning as mentioned and upon seeing a happy young cat, I just could not face another euthanasia.
“I think it is important to say here that even though at that point I had been a vet for over 10 years, euthanasias are never easy and you always ‘take them home’ with you.”
The panel said the ordeal was partly caused by a communication mix-up as Dr Parody originality believed the cat had no owner.
Dr Parody admitted she knew what she did was wrong and has no excuse for her actions.
But claimed she acted “with the welfare of the cat at the centre of my decisions”.
The panel agreed with Dr Parody’s sentiment but said she had “made a series of very poor decisions” and went against the usual procedure.
Dr Parody was given a reprimand and now works in Herefordshire.
The Castle Veterinary Group in Framlingham where the cat was supposed to be put down[/caption]
