The owner of a 12-year-old pug named Chloe says she dropped her dog off at the vet Monday for a follow-up appointment about a scratched cornea. A few hours later, she got a call letting her know Chloe was recovering nicely from having her left eye removed.
Kimberly Hayden says the Banfield Pet Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., never got her consent to remove Chloe's eye, or even warned her they'd be performing surgery. According to some paperwork she showed the local Fox station, the vet was supposed to get permission for any procedure that would cost more than $5.
"She's stumbling. Bumping into things. It's just been very traumatic. It feels surreal," she told Fox 13 Tampa Bay.
Hayden is considering suing the pet hospital, she said on Facebook and on local talk radio.
Banfield Pet Hospital admitted in a statement that "we did fail to get surgical authorization from the client on the day of the procedure," but claimed doctors had previously discussed the surgery with Chloe's owner. The vet maintains removing the eye was the only viable way to relieve pain and prevent infection.
Hayden says she was given several options at Chloe's previous appointment, and surgery was just one of them. She opted to try medication—she said the vet prescribed 3 kinds of eye drops and 2 oral medications—and scheduled the follow-up appointment to check on the dog's progress.
[Photo: My Fox Chicago]