An Upper East Side veterinary office is responsible for the “murder” of a little Maltese who received “fragmentary” dental work there and later died of kidney failure, the puppy’s owner claims in a $3 million lawsuit.
Devastated pet owner and plaintiff Kathryn Corkery says in recent court documents that Lenox Hill veterinarians added insult to injury by asking her if she did drugs or had drugs in her apartment while her dog Oliver suffered in the days before his death — a blatant attempt to shift blame away from the mess of the clinic.
“Mrs. Corkery experienced nightmares every night, reliving the suffering Oliver experienced,” her lawsuit states in February. “Images of Oliver’s misery and death are locked into Mrs. Corkery’s memories.”
Oliver, 12, had three teeth pulled on three separate occasions, which the lawsuit alleges ultimately led to the dog’s fatal health problems.
After Oliver’s first extraction in August 2022, Corkery took him back to the vet for another toothpick in February 2023 and then for his third in May 2023.
Corkery insists in her suit that the veterinarian, Dr. Manuel Sanchez, could have minimized the risks associated with oral procedures if he had just pulled Oliver’s last two teeth that needed extraction on the same day in February when the potential problem with the third tooth arose.
But nothing was done with the third tooth at the time, and she was told to come back in six months.
When the dog was returned three months later due to problems, it became clear that the third tooth needed to be extracted, the lawsuit states.
“The plaintiff blasted Dr. Sanchez for the mistake they made in not extracting this tooth on February 3, 2023 when the other tooth was extracted,” the lawsuit states, also alleging that no pre-surgical exam and no blood or urine work was done at the May 25 visit before from the export to check for any increased risks, as was done before the first two procedures.
Five days later, Oliver began vomiting water and staggering when he walked, but Sanchez dismissed any concerns during a June 7 appointment, even though the dog had no problems after previous tooth extractions, the lawsuit alleges.
Finally, Lenox Hill vets informed Corkery on July 1 that her dog had kidney failure, which prompted Sanchez to tell her he had to ask her some uncomfortable questions.
“Dr. Sanchez asked Plaintiff questions such as “do you have plants?” “Do you have anything toxic in your apartment?” ‘Do you do drugs?’ “Are there drugs in your apartment?” The answer to all of those questions was no,” the lawsuit states. “Dr. Sanchez was clearly trying to blame Plaintiff for Oliver’s ill health, rather than holding himself responsible for causing Oliver’s kidney failure.”
Oliver died a little over two weeks after that phone call. The lawsuit claims the “piecemeal” dental work opened the dog up to increased potential side effects from excessive anesthesia and bacteria.
“Ms. Corkery suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the defendants’ murder of Oliver,” the lawsuit alleges.
Sanchez, office owner Dr. Lawrence Putter and the practice are named as defendants in the legal action, which was first reported by the local outlet Upper East Site.
The Lenox Hill veterinarian declined to comment to The Post about the lawsuit’s allegations, but practice manager Luke Lowry said the plaintiff’s attorney, Peggy Collen, asked the clinic for $10,000 in December, which was denied.
The suit now seeks more than $3 million in damages, he noted.
“I think we can understand what’s going on there,” Lowry said.
Collen called Lowry’s claim “not true” and stressed that her client is entitled to a multi-million dollar payout due to the defendant’s “reckless” and “malicious” actions.
Lowry noted that the clinic, located on Second Avenue between East 78th and East 79th streets, has been serving the Upper East Side for 51 years and that the plaintiff had been coming to the clinic for several years before Oliver’s death.
“We are dedicated to providing the highest level of veterinary medicine along with friendly, compassionate service,” the veterinary clinic says on its website.
