WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. (WXIN) — A veterinarian accused of several counts of animal cruelty and assault in New York state was arrested Saturday by police and an ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Unit.
Veterinarian Javier Diaz, owner of Main Street Animal Hospital in the village of Elmsford, is accused of physically abusing pets at his clinic on six different occasions.
During one of the incidents, Diaz reportedly kicked a three-legged senior German shepherd in the chest and twisted and pulled the dog’s ear so hard that it “screamed incessantly,” wrote the SPCA Westchester in a Facebook post.
The veterinarian is then said to have kicked the dog again in its jaw, which caused the shepherd to jerk its head back, according to the post. A veterinary assistant who was holding the dog in place got hit by the dog’s head and suffered a bloody nose.
SPCA Westchester also said Diaz cut a two-month-old kitten’s gums and palate after shoving a nail clipper designed for dogs into its mouth.
Additionally, Diaz is accused of punching a Shiba Inu in the ribs, punching a Chihuahua to “make it stop crying,” choking a Shih Tzu almost to the point of unconsciousness, and jabbing a Labrador retriever in the ribs with a nail clipper and twisting its paw.
As of Monday, Diaz was still listed as a staff member on Main Street Animal Hospital’s website.
He was also charged with forgery for giving a pet owner a certificate of rabies vaccination and charging for the vaccine without actually administering a shot, according to the Yonkers Times.