An Upper East Side veterinarian office is responsible for the “murder” of a tiny Maltese that received “piecemeal” dental work there and later died of kidney failure, the pup’s owner claims in a $3 million lawsuit.
Devastated pet owner and plaintiff Kathryn Corkery says in recent court papers that Lenox Hill Veterinarians added insult to injury by asking her if she did drugs or had narcotics in her apartment while her dog Oliver suffered in the days before his death — a blatant attempt to shift blame away from the clinic’s screw-up.
“Ms. Corkery experienced nightmares every night, reliving the suffering that Oliver experienced,” her February lawsuit states. “The images of Oliver’s suffering and his death are locked in Ms. Corkery’s memories.”
Oliver, 12, had three teeth pulled on three separate occasions, which the lawsuit claims ultimately led to the dog’s fatal health woes.
After Oliver’s first extraction in August 2022, Corkery took him back to the vet for another tooth-yanking in February 2023 and then again for his third in May 2023.
Corkery insists in her suit that the vet, Dr. Manuel Sanchez, could have minimized the risks tied to the oral procedures if he had just yanked Oliver’s last two teeth needing extraction on the same day in February, when the potential problem with the third tooth came up.
But nothing was done with third tooth at the time, and she was told to come back in six months.
When she brought the dog back three months later because of issues, it became clear the third tooth needed to be extracted, the lawsuit states.
“Plaintiff blew up at Dr. Sanchez about the mistake they made by not pulling that tooth out in 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 during the May 25 visit before the extraction to check for any increased risks, as had been before the first two procedures.
Five days later, Oliver began vomiting water and stumbling when he walked, but Sanchez dismissed any concern during a June 7 appointment, even though the dog hadn’t had problems after the previous teeth extractions, the lawsuit claims.
Finally, Lenox Hill Veterinarians informed Corkery on July 1 that her dog had kidney failure, which led Sanchez to tell her he had to ask her some uncomfortable questions.
“Dr. Sanchez proceeded to ask Plaintiff questions, such as, ‘do you have plants?’ ‘Do you have something 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 says. “Dr. Sanchez was clearly attempting to blame Plaintiff for Oliver’s failing health, instead of holding himself accountable for causing Oliver to suffer from kidney failure.”
Oliver died a little more than two weeks after that phone call. The lawsuit claims the “piecemeal” dental work opened the dog to increased possible side effects from excessive anesthesia and bacteria.
“Ms. Corkery has suffered severe emotional distress as a result of Defendants’ murder of Oliver,” the suit claims.
Sanchez, office owner Dr. Lawrence Putter and the practice are named defendants in the legal action, which was first reported by the local outlet Upper East Site.
Lenox Hill Veterinarian declined to comment to The Post on the allegations in the suit, but practice manager Luke Lowry said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Peggy Collen, requested $10,000 from the clinic in December, which was declined.
The lawsuit is now seeking more than $3 million in damages, he noted.
“I think we can sort of figure out what’s going on there,” Lowry said.
Collen called Lowry’s assertion “not true” and stressed her client is entitled to a multimillion-dollar payout because of the defendant’s “reckless” and “malicious” actions.
Lowry noted 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 vet office says on its website.
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David Propper
