Melbourne vet killed much-loved sausage dog after botching routine procedure
Horrific details of a much-loved sausage dog’s painful death have emerged after a suburban Melbourne vet botched a routine procedure.
Victoria
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A suburban Melbourne vet killed a much-loved sausage dog by performing a routine medical procedure so incompetently a “fast flowing gush” of poo came out its mouth and it went into cardiac arrest.
The Herald Sun can today reveal the details of seven-year-old dachshund Oska’s painful death at the hands of Dr Leo Cantwell, despite the state veterinary regulator’s years-long legal campaign to keep details of the death a secret.
The Veterinary Practitioner’s Registration Board of Victoria, also known as the Vet Board, in 2022 suspended Dr Cantwell’s registration, after Oska’s grieving owner, Sofie Giuiri, lodged a complaint over the botched enema which claimed Oska’s life.
“My dog was my best, best friend,” Ms Giuri said.
“He was very active, he was very cute … and very, very loving.”
A formal disciplinary inquiry found Dr Cantwell guilty of five counts of serious unprofessional conduct, committed in less than 30 minutes between when he first began administering an enema to Oska, and when he died in agony.
A three member disciplinary panel, comprising Dr David Colson, Dr Tracey Bradley and Dr Andrew Giddy, found Dr Cantwell’s conduct was “a substantial departure from accepted standards for the veterinary profession”.
“The departure was neither trivial, nor was it of momentary effect and it placed the health and safety of Oska at significant risk”.
Ms Giuiri was by Oska’s side, trying to calm him as Dr Cantwell poured two buckets of soapy water into his bowels.
Ms Giuiri said it was concerning the Vet Board took more than two years to take action against Dr Cantwell.
Documents obtained by the Herald Sun show Dr Cantwell failed to administer painkillers to Oska before the procedure, and persisted with it even when Oska “appeared distressed and uncomfortable”, and his abdomen became distended.
“Ms Giuiri yelled to Dr Cantwell that Oska wasn’t responsive and only then did Dr Cantwell stop the enema procedure,” the disciplinary panel found.
Dr Cantwell’s substandard attempt to resuscitate Oska failed.
Ms Giuri said she now struggled to trust vets.
“We trust they are professional.”
The Vet Board found Dr Cantwell also failed to properly communicate with Ms Giuri, failed to obtain proper consent, and failed to keep proper records of Oska’s death.
Dr Cantwell provided little explanation for his handling of Oska’s case.
He said only that his record keeping “could have been better”.
It is understood Dr Cantwell never complied with the conditions the Vet Board placed on his registration, meaning he never returned to work.
Staff at his former clinic told owners he had retired, but did not disclose the reasons for the end of his career.
The clinic has since been sold to new operators.
Since Dr Cantwell’s suspension, the Vet Board has racked up an estimated $25,000 in legal fees trying to prevent the release of documents about Dr Cantwell’s suspension to the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information laws.
Those legal fees were paid to the state government’s in-house law firm, the Victorian government Solicitor’s Office, and to a high-billing private law firm, FOI Solutions, which represents governments in FOI disputes.
The legal fees accrued in attempting to keep details of Dr Cantwell’s conduct a secret far exceed the $12,928 the Vet Board spent on the hearing.
Ms Giuri said the Vet Board should have been more transparent.
“People deserve to know,” she said.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will shortly determine whether the Vet Board’s refusal to release documents relating to Dr Cantwell’s conduct was lawful.
The Vet Board has claimed it is an offence for it to disclose information relating to Dr Cantwell.
Dr Cantwell could not be contacted for comment.
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