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Derby resident Amr Wasfi, who worked and established the Black Rock Animal Hospital in Bridgeport, has been charged with animal cruelty and third-degree larceny following a pair of complaints that police received.
Police said that the first complaint involved the treatment of a dog who was brought to Black Rock Animal Hospital in February with a limp. The owner said that the dog had sprayed his knee and was sent home with medication. The dog continued limping a week later, so the owner returned to see Wasfi.
It is alleged that Wasfi told the owner that the dog had a fractured pelvis and required surgery, requiring the dog to stay at the hospital for five days. When the owner contacted Wasfi about returning his dog, he was told that the animal had to stay several more days for monitoring. When the owner attempted to visit the dog, he was refused.
More than two weeks after the surgery, Animal Control was contacted and the dog was returned to its owner. The dog reportedly lost 17 pounds while staying at the hospital.
According to reports, the owner took the dog to the emergency room at Central Hospital for Veterinary medicine, where it was determined that the dog never had a fracture and the surgery - which included putting a screw in the animal’s pelvis - had been unnecessary. The dog also had to be treated for dehydration and “refeeding syndrome.”
Police said that Wasfi charged $3,330 for the unnecessary surgery.
A second complaint from a former Black Rock Hospital employee alleges that Wasfi struck a kitten that was under anesthesia so hard that the feline’s intestines popped out of an incision. Wasfi also reportedly would grow agitated and throw surgical tools around the room.
Wasfi was arrested on Wednesday, May 1. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, May 8.
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