Heartbroken owner sues for $7 million after vet yanked 16 teeth from dog
Fabiana Franco says Battery Park Veterinary Hospital and vets Douglas Berger and Deianira Huettenmoser allegedly subjected her 3.8-pound (1.5kg), eight-year-old dog to a host of unnecessary procedures and botched care.
'I'm still in shock over it. Devastated,' she said.
'I know until all this is over I won't be able to grieve him properly.'
Ms Franco, 60, a psychologist who specialises in treating patients with complex trauma, adopted Coco as a way to help her most serious patients during therapy, but found the canine consultant quickly pawed his way into her family's heart.
'I fell in love with him and he became part of my work as well as my personal life,' she recalled. 'He was nine weeks old when I got him, and one pound [400 grams]. Adorable … He was a perfect personality, so playful.'
Coco suffered from tracheal collapse, a diagnosis common in the breed in which the trachea is weakened. The condition was managed with laser therapy and medications by his regular vet at the same practice, and didn't impact Coco's quality of life, Ms Franco said.
Her regular vet was cautious about putting Coco under anaesthesia, so Ms Franco was surprised in January when Dr Berger, who took over Coco's care after the other physician left on maternity leave, allegedly recommended putting Coco under to extract an infected molar.
'When Dr Berger reassured her that everything would be fine and that he would personally handle Coco's anaesthesia, and that a skilled, experienced vet would perform the surgery, and that he would oversee the entire surgery, she believed him,' according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
But Dr Berger wasn't there on January 15 when Ms Franco dropped Coco off for the procedure.
Dr Huettenmoser called hours later to say Coco had more than one bad tooth and recommended doing extractions in separate procedures, then allegedly went ahead and pulled 16 teeth without informing Ms Franco, according to court papers.
The vet also kept Coco under anaesthesia for more than two hours and failed to rush him for emergency care when he suffered cardiac arrest, keeping him at their facility for hours, the psychologist alleged.
Coco 'was clinically dead for nearly six minutes', but Dr Huettenmoser allegedly told Ms Franco 'he is fine', then transferred the dog to a general emergency clinic at Downtown Veterinary Medical Hospital rather than a specialised animal hospital, according to the litigation.
A nurse at the West Village facility eventually urged Ms Franco to rush the canine herself to Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side, and even rode with her to administer oxygen to the doomed pooch, who 'was visibly in pain', she said in court papers.
'The worst ride of my life,' she said through tears. 'He was making sounds, gasping for air. I was holding him, nurse next to me doing oxygen.'
Once at Animal Medical Center, Coco was rushed into critical care and was placed on a ventilator for days, but died January 19.
When Ms Franco sought Coco's medical records from Dr Berger and Dr Huettenmoser, they had been altered, including references to communications with her she says never happened, she claimed.
'It's been really horrific,' said Ms Franco, who was charged nearly $US30,000 ($46,000) between all three facilities.
The veterinarians allegedly 'sacrificed Coco's life to protect their professional reputation', she contended in the legal papers.
'I want to make sure no other pets are hurt,' she said. 'Everybody's devastated — patients, family, friends, neighbours, his groomer. It's horrific'.
'We are seeking justice for Coco,' said Ms Franco's lawyer, Peggy Collen. 'Veterinarians are shielded by laws that treat animals as mere property. It's time for change. Whether through case law or legislation, we must demand a legal system that holds veterinarians fully accountable and recognises that animals are far more than property'.
The veterinarians didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
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