Lazy 5 Vets Needlessly Killed Client’s Cat Then Chopped His Head off and Billed Her

This is one of those veterinary hospital rabies alerts which ends tragically and which should never have taken place in the first place. And it’s all the fault of the damned hospital if we believe the story teller. The page has been updated to reflect developments.

(1) Important note at Tues 9th Jan 2018 at 15:17 GMT (UK time): I have telephoned the Lazy 5 Veterinary Hospital and spoken to the practice manager (Scott). My intention was to get their side of the story. I told him that I owned this website and had recited the Facebook post on it and therefore had criticised the hospital. Scott informed me that he was unable to comment at present because of (a) instructions from his veterinary association and (b) client confidentiality. He said that he was preparing a statement to be issued in due course and that the hospital was considering suing. I presume this means in defamation. We can therefore expect a statement soon. He said that he was confident that the hospital had carried out correct protocols and that the FB post was inaccurate.

(2) Scott did say that they have received death threats. I don’t think it is helpful to do that but I understand the anger.

(3) I have amended this page at 15:22 UK time to add the above. I have also added the word “claimed” or “claims” in the introduction and “alleged” to the photo caption and underlined ‘allegations’ below. I need to protect this site.

(4) I am told that Starla has no intention of removing her Facebook post, the source of this story.

I have quoted verbatim Starla Daniel’s Facebook post below so this is an introduction based on Starla’s FB post. I have taken it to be true although it is her side of the story and always there are two sides. At present these are allegations.

Starla took her cat, KitKat, to the Lazy 5 Veterinary Hospital in Salisbury, North Carolina because he was ill. KitKat was 18 years of age. Starla had been taking him to the same hospital since he was a kitten. They had given him his rabies vaccinations she said.

The vet tech told Starla that they had to do an x-ray and some blood work and asked if KitKat might bite her. Starla told her that he might bite and that he was very sick. Therefore, on this basis, the vet tech was given a full warning about the possibility that her cat might bite.

But she claims they failed to take precautions against being bitten and failed to follow protocols. As a consequence when the vet tech return she told Starla that the cat had bitten her. She also said that KitKat had cancer. The vet tech said that they had to test him for rabies and that they’re going to have to put him down and cut his head off and send off the head for testing for rabies. And to add insult to injury that Starla would have to pay for the whole thing. All of it should not have happened.

If we are to believe Starla (and I do and I hope that she has not embellished her story), then all of this would have been avoided if the vet tech had protected herself against a bite or scratch as she should have. This is the root cause of the problem. One person on the face of it screwed up. Perhaps became careless and then reacted poorly when challenged. Even in good places small things can go wrong and cause big problems.

There is another issue but I am unclear how important this is or if it is relevant. NC state law requires cats and ferrets to wear rabies tags, but a local government may adopt an ordinance exempting them from this requirement. If an animal owner fails to comply with these requirements, the owner may be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor or the local health director may seek an injunction.

Yes, KitKat was elderly and had cancer but it is alleged that there was no need for the callous and heartless behavior of the veterinary staff. I’m now going to hand you over to Starla’s Facebook post because I found it very poignant, to the point and you can feel the heartbreak, anger and loss in her words….

Starla Daniel writes on Facebook Yesterday at 6:18am · Salisbury, NC, United States:

“It breaks my heart what happened to my sweet KitKat and I want everyone to know so it doesn’t happen to your loved one…….I took my fur baby to Lazy 5 Vet in Salisbury NC, where I have taken him since he was a kitten, for 18 years Lazy 5 Vet has given him all his rabies shots and when I took him to Lazy 5 because he was sick, he was still up-to-date on his rabies shot and they have recorded of it.

The vet tech came in and told me my baby was going for an x-Ray and blood work to find out what was wrong with him and she ask me if my cat bites. I told her, “Yes, he does bite and he is very sick and if she goes near his face he will bite her!” and she picked him up and carried him away for his tests.

The veterinarian returned with him and said, “I have some bad news, your cat has cancer, doesn’t have long to live and he bit my vet tech as she was carrying him back to you so we have to test him for rabies and we can’t let you take him back home and I’m going to have to put your cat down, cut his head off and send it to Raleigh to have it tested for rabies”.

I was so heartbroken to know my poor KitKat had cancer and not long to live and so mad/furious/livid that the vet tech didn’t take precautions to protect herself from my cat bitting her, when I told her he bites!!!!!

The veterinarian was so heartless and so rude to me and never apologized for her vet tech not taking responsibility/following protocol!!!!!!!

When I question the veterinarian about why her vet technician did not take precautions and put a muzzle on my cat or ask me to put a muzzle on him and why the vet tech didn’t wear gloves, knowing that I told her that my cat bites and is very sick, she just kept saying well he didn’t bite her on the way to get test done just on the way back.

My response was, well your veterinarian technician should have taken precautions knowing that my baby does not feel good and the most important fact, I told her that he does bite, when she asked me and since your vet tech was so careless/heartless and did not take her job serious and apparently you do not take your job serious or care about the animals that come into your hospital nor their families because your staff does not follow protocol when told an animal bites and you don’t care that they didn’t protect themselves and now you’re taking this all out on an innocent animal by cutting off my precious babies head and knowing he is up-to-date on his rabies shots!!!!!!

And the fact that your veterinarian technician did not follow protocol/protect herself when she was told that my cat does bite and knowing that my baby was sick!!!!!!

And to top it all off, The veterinarian even made me pay to have my babies head cut off and sent to Raleigh and made me pay for him to be tested for rabies when it was her fault and the veterinary technicians fault that all this took place to begin with!!!!!!!

When I told her I was not going to pay it and I was taking my baby home she threaten to call the law on me!!!!!!!

After testing, My KitKat DID NOT have rabies!! The veterinarian nor the veterinarian technician still have not apologize!!

My baby died that day from a heartless veterinarian technician and a heartless veterinarian that did not follow a simple protocol!!!!!!!!

So the reason why I’m letting everyone know what happened to my baby is because if you take your fur baby to lazy 5 vet or any veterinarian and your baby is sick, please make sure the veterinarian technician and veterinarian follow protocol for sick animals by making sure you ask them to please put gloves on themselves and make sure you ask them for a muzzle and you put a muzzle on your fur baby, especially when your fur baby is not feeling good and they’re sick with cancer like my baby was, so you do not have to go through what my family and I have went through knowing our poor babies head was cut off because of a Lazy 5 Vet heartless veterinarian technician mistake/heartless veterinarian!!!!!!!

We love and miss you KitKat!! ❤️

Please everyone share this awareness so everyone can protect their fur babies!!”

LINK to Starla’s FB page.