Ex-StarStruck bet cries vet malpractice as dog dies in botched dental procedure

A former StarStruck hopeful made allegations of malpractice against Petcentric on Monday after her 11-month-old Pomeranian Bella died in the clinic's care.

Mariam Al-alawi brought Bella to Petcentric for a dental prophylaxis and was told the procedure would be "simple." Hours later, she received a call from the clinic informing her that her dog had died. 

In a social media post that has been shared more than 19,000 times, Al-alawi wrote: "She was overdosed on the anesthesia as you can see she died with her eyes open. I was also shocked the doctor removed all of her 'milk teeth' daw and charged me P600 per tooth."

She added: "She never informed me of the risks or possible death. She told me maliit na procedure, just cleaning her teeth. Never would have I expected to be staring at a lifeless corpse and burying my dog that day."

Al-alawi spoke out the doctor's callous attitude and ended her post with: "I don't want this to happen to any other pet owner, especially in Fort Bonifacio, the neighborhood I live in. It's devastating and unjustifiable."

Her post was temporarily suspended on Thursday morning, but was back online by early evening. Petcentric and the doctor who performed the procedure were identified by Al-alawi herself in the comments section.

Al-alawi called and sent messages to Petcentric the day after Bella died, but she was unable to get in touch with them. GMA News Online also tried to get in touch with Petcentric via phone call, messages, and e-mail, but the clinic has not responded.

In an e-mail exchange with Al-alawi, she said that the doctor informed her that Bella would be put under general anesthesia, "Yes I was told that the procedure needed to put her to sleep to open her mouth, to be able to clean her build up tartar. She did not explain any possible death or risks."

"No risks were mentioned whatsover. If I had known there was the slightest risk, I would not have subjected my baby to possible death over a small case of doggy breath."

She asserted that she was not alerted to the possibility of having a tooth, let alone 16, pulled out, "I was not informed that she will be doing tooth extractions especially of more than 10 of Bella's teeth. I just asked for cleaning and that's what I signed for. I don't know whether Bella died from blood loss due to the amount of teeth taken out, miscalculation of anesthesia or not having the proper vet equipment."

According to Al-alawi, the doctor said the tooth extraction was necessary because they were "milk teeth."

A 16-tooth extraction is not unheard of, especially if the teeth are really rotting, according to the veterinarian GMA News consulted. He stated that there should be an agreement between the doctor and the pet owner, but also stressed that vets will approach procedures differently. He added that he did not want to judge the clinic and requested anonymity.

Despite the death of her dog, Al-alawi said that the doctor was waiting for payment and had shown her and her mother the waiver she signed. Given the circumstances, they adamantly refused to pay a single peso.

GMA News Online consulted a veterinarian who has been practicing for more than 10 years and according to him, the protocol is to assess first if an animal is healthy enough for the anesthesia. A blood test will be done in order to check if the kidney and liver are functioning properly.

"The liver metabolizes the anesthesia; the animal will wake up only if the liver is able to process the anesthesia. The kidney gets rid of the anesthesia after the procedure," he said via phone interview. In her note, Al-alawi wrote that the doctor at Petcentric requested a blood test and she complied. —JST, GMA News