A Cape Coral veterinarian is pleading not guilty to an animal cruelty citation after a Fort Myers man claimed his dogs returned from a boarding facility bloody and covered in feces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WINK Investigates has been .<\/p>\n
Gene Brzozowski, the dogs’ owner,\u00a0initially contacted WINK Investigates after he boarded his dogs at East West Veterinary Care Center on Sept.\u00a010.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he picked them up four days later, he claims they appeared to be injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“As we’re washing them, there’s feces on their harness,” Brzozowski told WINK Investigates in September. “The tub is now filling up with blood and urine and feces.”<\/p>\n
Brzozowski sent WINK Investigates, Lee County and the Cape Coral Police Department photos he believes show a burn mark on his dog Bosa’s inner thigh, blood on his dog Maya’s nose, and inflammation on his dog Agent’s groin.<\/p>\n
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Gene Brzozowski claims his three dogs appeared injured after a four-day stay at a boarding facility in Cape Coral. He said he believes his dog, Agent, appeared to have the worst injuries of the three.<\/p>\n
Brzozowski says he believes Agent’s injuries appear to be the worst.<\/p>\n
He claims Dr. Emily Huetten, the owner of East West Veterinary Care Center, attributed Agent’s\u00a0injuries to dermatitis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unconvinced, \u00a0from Dr. Ivan Ivanov at Bayshore Animal Hospital in Bradenton on Sept.\u00a024.<\/p>\n
“As soon as the vet walked in, ‘That’s chemical burns,'” Brzozowski said.<\/p>\n
Vet records from the appointment show Dr. Ivanov documented the injuries as consistent with “suspected chemical burn of the scrotum.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brzozowski said that weeks later, the skin on his dog’s groin was\u00a0flaked and “is still burned.<\/p>\n
“This presentation is consistent with a chemical burn, which can occur in kennel environments if dogs are exposed to concentrated cleaning chemicals on surfaces like concrete floors,” vet records from Bayshore Animal Hospital show.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gene\u00a0Brzozowski claims his dog, Agent, appeared injured after a four-day stay at a boarding facility in Cape Coral. Weeks later, he said the skin on Agent’s groin was\u00a0flaked and “is still burned.”<\/p>\n
Lee County report reveals basis for animal cruelty citation<\/p>\n
WINK Investigates has now learned animal control officers visited East West Veterinary Care Center on Oct.\u00a05 and found feces in the dirt outside the facility, a Lee County report shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the report, a staff member told officers the\u00a0area is cleaned\u00a0once a week, though county ordinance requires daily cleaning.<\/p>\n
Two days later, officers returned and issued the facility’s owner, Dr. Emily Huetten, a written warning for violating the daily cleaning ordinance, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“All cages, kennels, stalls, or enclosures shall be cleaned daily,” \u00a0states. “Any bedding provided must be clean.”<\/p>\n
Inside the facility, the report states officers found a cleaning product called ‘KennelSol.’<\/p>\n
“It is important to note that KennelSol’s label warns that the product may cause severe skin and eye irritation,” the report cites.<\/p>\n
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The finding led to Dr. Huetten receiving an animal cruelty citation in connection with the alleged use of the KennelSol, the report shows.<\/p>\n
“No owner, keeper, or agent of an animal shall fail to provide the animal with adequate food, water, shelter, or veterinary care; or restrain the animal by any means other than those defined in this Ordinance,” \u00a0states.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report also cites, which states “No animal shall be kept in unsanitary conditions, or in areas where there is vermin-harboring debris or other material which can provide an opportunity for injury or danger to the animal\u2019s health or welfare.”<\/p>\n
“In this case, the kennel in which Agent was boarded is considered the shelter, and KennelSol is the suspected ‘other material’ referenced in the ordinance,” the report cites.<\/p>\n
Brzozowski said he’s relieved by the findings.<\/p>\n
“It’s a reward for Agent, you know, he’s gone through a lot,” Brzozowski said.<\/p>\n
Cape Coral Police say their investigation is still active.<\/p>\n
Veterinarian’s attorney speaks for first time<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, court records show Dr. Huetten is pleading not guilty to the allegations.<\/p>\n
WINK Investigates spoke with Dr. Huetten’s attorney, Michael Raheb, in a phone call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He declined to do an interview or provide a statement, but said Brzozowski’s claims “have no merit.”<\/p>\n
He called the claims a “money grab” and said Dr. Huetten has no history of complaints.<\/p>\n
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s [DBPR] \u00a0shows no complaints have been filed against Dr. Huetten.<\/p>\n
WINK Investigates emailed DBPR to ask if Dr. Huetten’s veterinary license could be affected by the recent citation, but has not yet received a response.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“I hope that this is\u00a0a learning experience for that establishment, and I just hope that they better their practices,” Brzozowski said. “It’s not just about my dogs. It’s about all animals that are housed there.”<\/p>\n
Raheb said in a phone call Dr. Huetten plans to fight the allegations.<\/p>\n
A representative with the Lee County Clerk of Courts confirmed in a phone call a hearing date has not yet been set.<\/p>\n
WINK Investigates is committed to following this story and will continue to update you as we learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Cape Coral veterinarian is pleading not guilty to an animal cruelty citation after a Fort Myers man…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[12663,12652,6275,6249,209,211,210,212,4469,12661,12657,12660,6251,9189,12651,12658,12653,12655,356,12662,12659,12656,12654],"class_list":["post-14518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-adequate-food","tag-animal-law","tag-attorney","tag-bayshore-animal-hospital","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-cape-coral-police","tag-cape-coral-police-department","tag-cape-coral-veterinarian","tag-chemical","tag-chemical-burns","tag-concentrated-cleaning-chemicals","tag-crimes","tag-cruelty-to-animals","tag-department-of-business-and-professional-regulation","tag-gene-brzozowski","tag-kennelsol","tag-lee-county","tag-suspected-chemical","tag-u-s-securities-and-exchange-commission","tag-veterinarian","tag-zoosadism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}