SUFFOLK, England — A senior veterinarian has been officially reprimanded after she failed to follow a pet owner’s instructions to euthanize their cat, instead taking the animal home and charging nearly £500 for its care.
Janine Parody, who was working at a veterinary practice in Framlingham, Suffolk, in 2021, treated an eight-month-old cat named Shadow against the owner’s wishes. The cat was seriously ill with a methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection and had been scheduled for euthanasia just before Christmas.
At a disciplinary hearing by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), Parody admitted she could not face putting down another animal after performing several euthanasias earlier that day. She said Shadow appeared happy and treatable, so she sedated him, castrated him, removed his microchip, and took him home without informing or gaining consent from the owner.
“I was greeted by a sweet young cat, which appeared healthy apart from his skin condition,” Parody told the tribunal. “I had already done back-to-back euthanasias that morning … and just could not face another.”
The cat’s original owner, referred to only as SM, believed Shadow had been euthanized and was grieving his loss when she was later informed the cat was alive. She was then asked to pay £480 to get him back. SM agreed, saying she was both “shocked and elated” to learn the cat had survived.
However, Shadow’s health declined again two months later, and he was ultimately euthanized. Parody resigned from her position, and an investigation was launched.
The RCVS tribunal found Parody guilty of “disgraceful professional conduct.” The panel acknowledged she had been under extreme stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic but said she had made a “series of very poor decisions.”
It also noted that miscommunication had led Parody to wrongly believe the cat no longer had an owner, but emphasized the seriousness of her actions. “She should be under no illusion of how serious it is to have a finding of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect made against her,” the ruling stated.
Parody, who has since moved to a veterinary practice in Hereford, was described by former colleagues as a dedicated and fair professional with an “exceptional” record.
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