LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Henderson dog owner discovered her adopted pet was never spayed despite paperwork indicating the procedure had been completed, leading to a life-threatening medical emergency and more than $7,000 in veterinary bills.
Sandra Broadway said her dog Faith, a blue-eyed husky mix, became critically ill two weeks ago and required emergency surgery that veterinarians said would never have been needed if the dog had been spayed.
Broadway gained custody of Faith a year and a half ago when her daughter’s friend deployed with the military. The original adoption paperwork from The Animal Foundation, dated October 2021, listed Faith as spayed multiple times.
“Everything I had, says spayed… You wouldn’t think anything different,” Broadway said. “She’s never had any sort of heat cycles or anything else that would have told us she wasn’t spayed and everything matched the paperwork.”
Emergency surgery required
Four years after Faith’s adoption, the dog’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Within 24 hours, Faith went from not eating to refusing to move.
“She was laying there out on the ground and all these flies were all over her all over. And we were just like, ‘oh, my gosh’. We got her in the house and we called the vet’s office and we said we need to get her in there right now,” Broadway said.
X-rays revealed Faith had never been spayed.
“They came out and they were like, she’s not spayed, you said she’s spayed. And we’re like she is spayed and they brought up X-rays and said, no… These are two ovaries right here that are extremely swollen and somewhere in this mess is what he said is her uterus,” Broadway recounted.
Broadway faced an ultimatum: pay $5,000 for emergency surgery or euthanize Faith.
“The whole time he’s saying this, Faith is in the back screaming and crying and it’s like I’m not going to put my dog down,” Broadway said.
Faith is slowly recovering at home. The vet bill to date has exceeded $7,000. Broadway said the situation is frustrating knowing it could have been prevented.
“How many more are are out there? We trust those people to have done the right thing… My dog is going through all sorts of pain,” Broadway said.
Animal Foundation responds
The Animal Foundation acknowledged the error in a statement to FOX5.
“In 2021, the dog was mistakenly marked as spayed in our system, and this was not verified before the animal left our care,” the statement said. “We are deeply sorry for our mistake and for the pain Sandra and her family went through. We’re happy the dog is recovering at home, and to help make things right, we are offering to cover the cost of the dog’s medical care.”
The organization said it has implemented safeguards since 2021. A licensed veterinary professional must now confirm an animal is spayed or neutered before leaving the shelter. If an animal has a spay scar but no clear documentation, adopters receive follow-up instructions.
The Animal Foundation is under new leadership since Faith’s adoption. The current CEO started in 2022.
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