Dr Janine Parody: Vet investigated after taking home kitten that was meant to be euthanised

A vet who took home a kitten she was meant to euthanise has been found guilty of serious professional misconduct.

Dr Janine Parody had put down three or four animals that morning and could “not face another euthanasia” as she thought the “happy young cat” could be cured, she told a disciplinary committee.

When a veterinary nurse questioned whether its owner would have consented to treatment instead, Dr Parody said they did not want the eight-month-old cat, thought it would be dead and would be “none the wiser”.

The owner, identified only as SM, had recently taken ownership of the cat, called Shadow, but decided to have it put down because it was ‘very sick’ with MRSA, thin and had facial injuries, the hearing was told.

An appointment was made for Dr Parody to euthanise the animal at Castle Veterinary Group in Framlingham, Suffolk, on December 20, 2021.

However, after consulting a dermatologist, who suggested the MRSA could be treated, Dr Parody sedated and castrated the cat and told a colleague to remove its microchip.

She then took the animal home to care for it over Christmas. Following the holidays, when a receptionist asked why there was no record or clinical history for the kitten, Dr Parody admitted it was alive and at her home.

SM was informed and returned to the practice to collect the cat on December 31. But by late February after further treatment, the cat was still poorly and was put down.

I think it is important to say that even though at that point I had been a vet for over ten years, euthanasias are never easy and you always ‘take them home’ with you.

Dr Parody resigned and an investigation was launched.

SM told the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons tribunal she felt she and the animal had suffered unnecessarily as a result of Dr Parody’s decision not to initially put it to sleep.

She said she felt as though the vet wanted to keep the cat for herself.

Dr Parody said she had been “ready to euthanise” until she walked into the consulting room and was greeted by a sweet young cat which appeared to be healthy apart from its skin condition.

She added: “I think it is important to say that even though at that point I had been a vet for over ten years, euthanasias are never easy and you always ‘take them home’ with you.”

Dr Parody wrongly believed the cat did not have an owner, the tribunal was told.

But the panel found that she had made incorrect assumptions based on conversations from other staff members rather than clinical records and had failed to check the cat’s microchip.

She then “took it upon herself to make a series of decisions she was not entitled to make, without first consulting the owner,” it ruled.

Dr Parody, who is still licensed to practise as a vet and now works in Herefordshire, was given a reprimand.