David Lacy, DVM of Vernon, Texas, may have a dainty last name, but there was nothing dainty about his handling of the little dachshund "Zeke" when Zeke's owner brought him in to see Lacy in August of 2006.
Zeke's human had brought him to see Lacy because of vomiting and diarrhea. You'd think a vet would handle a dog -- especially a small dog like a dachshund, especially one who is sick -- with compassion. But instead, as Vet Board Findings of Fact show, this isn't how Lacy treated Zeke.
"While preparing for the examination," the Board findings state, the owner "tried to place a muzzle on 'Zeke' but was unsuccessful. Dr. Lacy picked the struggling dog up by the jaws and said: 'I've had enough of this.' The dog began to whine and scream" [wouldn't you whine and scream if somebody picked you up by the jaws?] and the owner thought that "Zeke was biting his tongue. Dr. Lacy then roughly threw the dog onto the exam table and the dog defecated on the table and on Dr. Lacy [and the owner]. At the end of the exam, he told [the owner], 'that dog is psycho."
Um, dude, the DOG IS NOT THE ONE WHO IS PSYCHO!!!!!!
Oh, he called the owner later and apologized for "losing his temper" -- but is there ever an excuse for a veterinarian to lose his temper with an innocent, small, essentially helpless patient?
All that reprehensible behavior and guess what?
The board issued him a letter of INFORMAL REPRIMAND. That's it. No fine, no suspension. Just a slap on the wrist, and not even a "formal" one at that.
The Texas Vet Board sucks!!!
So does Dr. "psycho" Lacy!
