A number of Pet Homeowners Criticize Rhode Island Veterinarian, Sparked by Canine’s Demise

Tuesday March 16, 2021

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Maloney told his story – and a photo of the late “Fenway”.

A choir of pet owners raises questions about a number of incidents at a Rhode Island veterinary clinic.

Keith Maloney from Bristol shared his story about his 12 year old Golden Retriever “Fenway” which he brought to the Harbor Animal Hospital in Warren for a routine check-up.

Hours later, Fenway was dead.

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On March 8, Maloney said he dropped his apparently healthy pet at the vet before it was “done in her own urine”.

Maloney had questions about what exactly had happened before she died, and what he said was a lack of answers.

“It was really awful. Her death would have been bad enough, but what happened was just terrible, ”Maloney told GoLocal.

In a Facebook post about Fenway’s death that generated hundreds of reactions, interactions, and shares, people shared their own experiences at the East Bay Clinic – and some with veterinarian Dr. Wade Cordy.

Cordy didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

The story of a dog owner

Maloney, who is 78, said he waited over an hour for Fenway on March 8 after dropping her off for an exam and said he urgently needed to use a toilet.

“So I went to the door with a mask on and told them to let me use their facilities or I had to take my dog,” Maloney said.

Maloney said he was told he could not enter the facility.

According to Maloney, two technicians “performed Fenway in her own urine” and told him nothing about why she was in this condition.

Maloney admitted that he was angry to see his dog in this condition.

“I used rough language. I said, “What the hell happened to my dog?” He said.

“I took her home and she got worse,” said Maloney. “I called the vet to inquire. They told me to take Fenway to an emergency veterinary clinic. ”

Maloney said he wanted to take Fenway to a facility in East Providence but was turned away due to staff shortages and had to drive Fenway across the state to East Greenwich to another facility.

“When I got there, Fenway was over,” said Maloney.

Maloney said he met with Cordy the next day – but couldn’t get an answer about what happened to Fenway at the veterinary clinic.

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One of the photos from Fenway’s “Fan” page in 2019.

“He used some big words and tried to give me a piece of paper,” Maloney said. “I did not want. I wanted to know what exactly happened there so that it would come out the way it did. ”

“[Cordy] Not only was he unprofessional, he was really rude to me and the memory of my dog. There was no compassion, ”said Maloney.

Maloney said he filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Department of Health and learned from the state agency that they are opening an investigation.

“If there is a hearing, I hope the other people who posted their stories about Cordy come too,” Maloney said of the dozen people who have had their own experiences.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but my daughter, who lives in California, was so mad – she sent them a message at the veterinary clinic,” Maloney said. “And she got a message back that she’d better be careful what she said on social media or they’ll basically sue.”

“I spoke to my lawyer and we had a long discussion,” said Maloney. “He said there is a law in Rhode Island that says you can say anything as long as what you say is true. If you say something untrue, there is a problem. “

Maloney said Cordy later told him he could have him arrested for entering the door of the building when he asked about using the toilet.

More customer experience

Another Harbor Animal Clinic customer announced that his dog was experiencing a side effect – the same day Fenway was at the vet.

“My fiancé and I are horrified when we read this because our dog was there the same day and something was wrong with him too,” said Samantha Viera on Maloney’s post. “After his appointment, he came back in my car and immediately had a bowel movement and threw himself in my car several times, which he has never done before. Then later, his face broke into large beehives all over the place. “

“When I called there was no explanation of what happened to him while he was under his care,” Viera continued. “You wonder what’s really going on in there. We will definitely change vets. ”

Another family who used the facility said they had a “big” problem with Cordy and the veterinary clinic last year.

“We had Creed – he was five and an English bulldog,” said Corinne Francis. “He tested positive for Lyme when we rescued him. They said he was positive [for Lyme] and had no symptoms. They claimed we turned down more tests, but that’s not true, we never would have. “

“He started shaking and they refused to see him,” said Frances. “If they had treated him, he would still be here. They said when they gave [the antibiotic] For every animal that tested positive for Lyme, they ran out of drug. We had to put him down a week later. “

Frances shared an interaction in which her mother criticized Cordy’s practice – and the vet’s devastating reaction.

“MS. Francis, in response to your irresponsible tirade, 5 out of 6 specialists on board would not have treated with doxycycline without additional testing …[and] They declined further tests, ”the Harbor Animal Hospital said in a Facebook message.

“We never turned down further tests,” said Francis’ mother, Suzanne.

Chris Connors of Warren said he took his cockatiel to Harbor Animal Center – and would “not recommend it to anyone.”

“We found he was a little sick – we looked around and Dr. Cordy should be a specialized avian doctor,” Connors said. “They gave him an antibiotic – he stopped the drug, he went out, we wanted to get it filled. They didn’t give us a refill and said he would call us. Next week we started a new drug. We went to another doctor when he wasn’t getting better – they said we would take him to the East Greenwich emergency room. They told us there that the antibiotic he was taking was poisonous to birds. It’s an antifungal drug. He spent a week in intensive care and on oxygen – they couldn’t tell it was the drug that killed him, but it got him over the edge that they thought it was toxic. “

“We kind of felt sorry for Harbor Animal, we’re going to put it on a note and that’s all they would give us. Dr. Cordy was always small and dismissive. He likes to hide next to big words when he can only say “swelling”, “said Connors.” I’m an EMT. We would never act like that. “

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