In Lake Worth, Florida, a 19-year-old woman has been charged with felony animal cruelty after allegedly cropping a ten-week-old puppy’s ears without a veterinarian license and botching the job, reports the Palm Beach Post.
On Tuesday, Brandi Seipe appeared at the Palm Beach County Courthouse before a judge and was charged with practicing veterinary medicine without a license and animal cruelty. According to the Palm Beach County Animal Control officers, the owner of the pit bull puppy, named King, went to Seipe after she assured them she was a vet tech and had performed the same procedure for many dog owners at the reduced price of $80.
Seipe allegedly told the owner King had received a sedative similar to Xanax; a practice she stated she had done many times. Seipe would not allow the owner to watch the procedure and normally had her boyfriend hold the puppies down while she cropped their ears. When Seipe’s boyfriend wasn’t present, she tied King’s legs together.
The arrest record stated the puppy’s owner became concerned when the pup’s ears were not healing correctly. When she took the dog to a licensed veterinarian, she was told the ears were cut too short for the breed, and the cuts had been closed with fishing line. In a report by CbsNews, the attending veterinarian statement is as follows:
“On physical exam, the puppy was found to appear healthy. The ears were recently cropped. They appeared to be sutured with clear fishing lines… Examination of the ears revealed poor technique and poor skin closure. Brandi is an unlicensed, unskilled individual performing surgery and possibly anesthesia in her own home on the sole purpose of monetary gain, It is imperative this individual be restricted from ever performing any surgery on another dog, and that she faces the maximum penalty allowed to discourage others.”
Reports by authorities state King would cry when anyone touched his ears. Ear cropping is an extremely painful procedure and is frowned upon by many veterinarians. If it is done, it must be done in a hospital environment with a skilled, licensed veterinarian.
Seipe was released without bond and is not allowed to practice any veterinarian services or own any animals.
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(Photos: Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control)
This is one of those cases where I believe in “and eye for an eye” – or, as in this case, an ear for a ear. Give ME a pair of scissors and I’ll cut this b****’s ears to give her a taste of her own medicine. It sounds, too, like this wasn’t the first time she’s done surgery on a dog. I hope they find the others she’s done illegal surgery on and not only does she get prison time, but every one of the owners sues her in civil court. Glad the dog will be okay, but I wonder about the owner who allowed someone other than a vet to do a surgery (a surgery which, in my opinion, should be outlawed as it is totally unnecessary and hurtful to the animals).
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Poor dog, and poor owner too. I’m sure she didn’t want to hurt the dog with that botched surgery.
[…] In Lake Worth, Florida, a 19-year-old woman has been charged with felony animal cruelty after allegedly cropping a ten-week-old puppy’s ears without a veterinarian license and botching the job, reports the Palm Beach Post. On Tuesday, Brandi Seipe appeared at the Palm Beach County Courthouse before a judge and was charged with practicing veterinary medicine … […]