The College of Veterinarians of British Columbia has opened an investigation after a South Surrey clinic allegedly mishandled paperwork of a deceased dog, which resulted in the animal spending 78 days in a freezer before being cremated.

Ronald Eves told Peace Arch News this week that Brooke, his 13-year-old Chow Chow, died at around 3:30 a.m. on June 10, 2018.

Eves and his partner, Liz Bouchard, brought the animal to the Surrey Animal Hospital. He said they paid $150 for a cremation but didn乌鸦传媒檛 receive an invoice.

Eves said they were concerned that their dog had been accidentally poisoned, and requested blood work before the cremation.

乌鸦传媒淲e left (Brooke) there to be cremated. We kept phoning regarding the cremation and blood samples and we got nowhere,乌鸦传媒� said Eves, who filed a complaint with the college of veterinarians.

Last month, the college乌鸦传媒檚 investigation committee 乌鸦传媒� comprised of seven veterinarians and two public members 乌鸦传媒� met to consider Eves乌鸦传媒� complaint against the Surrey Animal Hospital.

In an update provided to Eves on May 30, the committee provided the 乌鸦传媒減reliminary view乌鸦传媒� that, initially, there was difficulty locating Brooke乌鸦传媒檚 records because the dog was listed under a different name; there was no electronic record found for the June 10 appointment; and the complaint highlighted issues related to record keeping, including 乌鸦传媒渋nsufficient tracking of a deceased animal.乌鸦传媒�

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College of Veterinarians CEO Luisa Hlus confirmed to PAN that there was an investigation, but declined to comment.

乌鸦传媒淲e have reported to Mr. Eves about our investigation, so please use him as your source as we cannot tell you more than what we have told him,乌鸦传媒� Hlus emailed to PAN.

Contacted via phone Tuesday, an employee at the SAH declined to comment 乌鸦传媒� saying he only started working there last August 乌鸦传媒� and provided PAN a phone number to another veterinarian, who has yet to respond to request for comment made Tuesday morning.

However, SAH emailed the College of Veterinarians of BC staff lawyer Allison Maharaj on Sept. 11. The email was provided to PAN by Eves.

The email confirms that Eves suspected his pet might have been poisoned, and that he was informed that an autopsy can deduce the actual cause of death and the cost associated with it.

乌鸦传媒淐lient was very skeptical about spending that amount of money,乌鸦传媒� the email says, adding that Eves asked for the body to be put on hold while Eves considered his options.

乌鸦传媒淭he client then never got back to us regarding the dog,乌鸦传媒� the email says. However, Eves disputes this point.

The SAH email says a recently hired staff member 乌鸦传媒� who was still in training when the dog was brought into the clinic 乌鸦传媒� took down the client information, but was not aware of the procedure for handling bodies that needed to be kept on hold. The email says the new staff member indicated that the body needed to be put on hold, but didn乌鸦传媒檛 identify who the pet belonged to.

The body was picked up by Until We Meet Again cremation service at the end of August, and Brooke was cremated as an 乌鸦传媒渦nidentified body,乌鸦传媒� the email states. The email says that the $150 paid was a deposit, and a bill couldn乌鸦传媒檛 be printed because they didn乌鸦传媒檛 know what service to charge for.

乌鸦传媒淲e have a letter from the vet, and it was 78 days before she was set out for cremation. It was乌鸦传媒� what do you call it where you stack them all in a pile? Communal burning, if you will,乌鸦传媒� Eves said.

乌鸦传媒淲e were just absolutely shocked that she sat there for 78 days in some fridge.乌鸦传媒�

The college told Eves that the investigation is ongoing, and that they will provide him an update on the process every two months.

Eves said the reason he contacted the media was to encourage other pet owners to do some research before picking a veterinarian.

乌鸦传媒淲here I乌鸦传媒檓 going with this is, the public needs to know what乌鸦传媒檚 going on and, more importantly, I think the college is failing because of the timeline. I think they could have probably moved this a lot quicker, 12 months is a long time and now they want to advise us every two months,乌鸦传媒� Eves said.

It乌鸦传媒檚 not the first time the Surrey Animal Hospital has been investigated by the governing body.

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Last year, the college cancelled the Surrey Animal Hospital乌鸦传媒檚 accreditation. When the cancellation was made public, the college did not comment on what led to the decision.

The cancellation meant that the facility had to surrender its accreditation certification, and, among other requirements, had to cease providing veterinary services. However, the clinic was permitted to sell inventory that is not medically prescribed.

The College of Veterinarians has not confirmed when the Surrey Animal Hospital乌鸦传媒檚 accreditation was reinstated.

As of Tuesday (June 11), the Surrey Animal Hospital is operating under a 乌鸦传媒渓imited乌鸦传媒� accreditation.

aaron.hinks@peacearchnews.com
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