Fox 4 Investigative Reporter Alan Jennings spent months checking skill levels of pet Doctors in South West Florida.
Jennings discovered simple surgeries ending in dogs dying, and others left with debilitating injuries like permanent brain damage.
"These are careless deadly mistakes," says Shelli Connelly. She took her 6 Dachshund's to Dr. Abdel Hamici's emergency clinic in Bonita Springs in 2016. One died during teeth cleaning, the other suffered permanent brain damage.
The Florida Board of Veterinarian Medicine, put Dr Hamici on probation until Spring of 2018, citing Hamici for unacceptable, incompetent procedures involving Connelly's dogs.
Hamici told Fox 4 he was sorry and never meant to harm any dog. "It was an accident, and remember, pets can have anesthesia reactions," said Hamici.
However, the state fined Hamici $4,000 and ordered him back to school for eleven hours of Cardiology, Anesthesia and Dentistry, and put him on probation.
Fox 4 recently uncovered a new complaint against Hamici, the details of which are not yet known. The FBVM will issue its findings in this latest case in the near future.
Hamici was already on probation from yet another case in 2014 when Shelli Connelly experienced what she called "a horror movie nightmare."
During his investigation, Jennings uncovered other shocking incompetent behavior by other local Vets. One woman Vet was caught letting her non-Veterinarian husband to operate on dogs.
Hamici isn't alone. Dozens of Veterinarians statewide are on probation for a variety of harmful and deadly mistakes. In the last ten years only five of nearly 7,000 Vets statewide have lost their license to practice.
North Fort Myers Veterinarian Dr. Mark Schmidt told Jennings, "from what I hear there's a lot more violations and less, less disciplinary actions."
The Florida Board of Veterinarian Medicine can only investigate when a pet owner files a complaint: myfloridalicense.com.
You can also check to see if your Veterinarian is or was ever on probation on the same website.
