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Bobby Lombardo told Daily Voice that he asked veterinarian Paul Kim not to use the heating pad during ACL surgery on the right leg of his Rottweiler, Harley, nearly five weeks ago.
When he left the hospital, he said, he made sure to check Harley's body for burns -- having heard that another dog was burned during the same procedure in December.
Lombardo said he found a burn that looked identical to that dog's burns on Harley's right hip.
The first report came from Cris Repoles of North Bergen, who said her dog, Cooper, was treated by Park three times last year for skin allergies.
In December 2017, Kim operated on Cooper's ACL, she said. Days later, Repoles brought Cooper back to Kim for more skin irritation.
Kim treated the irritation as allergies, Repoles said.
But the irritated areas began blistering and bleeding, she said, so she brought Cooper to another vet -- who diagnosed the injuries as burns from a heating pad.
"There is no doubt we would have suspected a burn on Cooper at the time the pictures were taken (see above)," Park said. "But earlier, with just raised skin and redness, we didn't. And the only way to tell would have been a biopsy."
Kim had not returned Daily Voice's phone call regarding Harley as of Thursday evening.
Park says even if Lombardo did request not to have used a heating pad during Harley's surgery, it wouldn't have been possible.
"Any dogs or humans under anesthesia will have a drop in temperature because their metabolism slows down," she said. "It can be scary how low it will drop -- but we can't get rid of heating pads."
In 2014, CBS reported that the SPCA found 40 German shepherds being kept in "cramped, crowded and inhumane conditions" at the Ridgefield Park Animal Hospital. Kim on Wednesday declined to comment on the incident, saying only that it was a misunderstanding.
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