Veterinary Clinic Employee Arrested on Charges of Aggravated Animal Abuse

Sandra Glidewell, 48, a part-time employee at the You’ve Got A Friend Veterinary Clinic in Mascotte, Florida was arrested on Tuesday, December 23 on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals after she allegedly bashed two cats with a hammer and then drowning them in her swimming pool at her home in Groveland. Following her arrest, Glidewell was booked into the Lake County jail under a $6,000 bond.

According to The Daily Commercial, Glidewell had been working at the clinic for close to two years, as well as fostering several animals. Glideman’s position was immediately terminated when Joyce Alderman, the clinic’s owner learned about these allegations. Alderman said,

“”She never demonstrated any abuse towards any animal at this clinic. She did not have that record or reputation when she was hired.”

Deputies responded to calls they received early Tuesday morning, alleging that Glideman was beating the animals with a hammer. Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Jim Vachon said that upon their arrival two cats who “appeared to have been bludgeoned and then drowned” were found at the bottom of the pool. Also found at the scene was a dead Chihuahua on a chair wrapped up in a blanket.

According to an arrest affidavit, Glideman’s young daughter informed deputies that on Monday night her mother became “extremely upset” and started yelling, when she told her that one of their Chihuahuas had escaped from an outside fence and had drowned in the swimming pool. Glidewell attempted to revive the dog with CPR, but to no avail. The daughter also told them that an hour later that she observed her mother tossing a cat onto the ground and then, using a hammer tried to hit another cat in the head. When the deputies asked Glidewell about the incident, she told them that she was upset with her daughter and blamed her for letting the dog to drown.

Further information included in the affidavit is even more distressing. Apparently the daughter grabbed her mother’s hand in an attempt stop her brutal tirade. However, her mother yelled back at her to “let go or there will be more.” The daughter said that later on she found the two cats “still alive but barely breathing.” She told the deputies that her mother then “took the cats one by one to the pool and drowned them.”

The daughter went on to say that she heard the garage door open and observed her mother holding a cat with a serious head injury. What makes these events of animal abuse even more disturbing is that Glidewell tossed her the cat saying, “There, you can say bye to him.”

Seized from the residence were several animals including an African Grey parrot, macaws, a cockatoo, a Siamese mix, other cats and a Pit-Bull mix. According to a press release, the animals were taken to Lake County Animal Services where they will be checked out by a veterinarian and remain there until a court hearing. The clinic picked up the animals that Glidewell was fostering.

No doubt we will never know the exact reason that prompted this trusted clinic employee to go completely berserk with such heinous behavior; perhaps in reaction to her dog’s accidental death. Could her sick and depraved response have been triggered as an attempt to punish her daughter?

As far as this writer is concerned, any act of animal cruelty is heart-breaking and highly disturbing. But it is even more horrendous and highly alarming when these despicable acts are performed at the hands of a “trusted” staff member working at a veterinary animal clinic.

According to Small Animal Talk, burnout and depression rank high in the veterinary profession. Although burnout and deep despair may have been at the root of Glidewell’s deplorable, savage behavior, does it make her shocking behavior any more excusable?

What is your opinion? Share your thoughts in a comment.