CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – St. Bethlehem Animal Clinic is drawing complaints after an employee posted to Snapchat on Thursday a graphic image of a cat’s injury – an injury the cat’s owner claims is the result of malpractice.
Kathryn Wigington dropped off her cat Mabel at St. Bethlehem to be spayed on Thursday, April 15, and was told the vet would call her for pickup.
Wigington said she arrived late the same afternoon to pick up her cat, and, after she paid for the procedure, a vet tech informed her that Mabel had “flailed and bit through her tongue.”
Wigington’s mother then called St. Bethlehem to speak with a veterinarian, who she said told her that Mabel had bitten her tongue off, and it had to be reattached.
“I was livid. I tried to stay professional, but I had never heard of that,” Wigington said. “How in the world can a cat bite off their tongue? How scared would you have to be?”
Later, a friend of Wigington’s who follows a St. Bethlehem employee on Snapchat, informed her of a graphic image of Mabel’s tongue that had been posted to the social media app with the caption: “Her bad attitude backfired.”
Animal Clinic employee fired
Clarksville Now spoke with Kathryn Whitford, staff supervisor for St. Bethlehem Animal Clinic, who said the employee who posted the photo has been fired.
According to Whitford, when staff tried to place a leash on Mabel, she “went a little wild” and began “alligator rolling around.” During the spay procedure, she noticed the cat was bleeding from the mouth due to her tongue being split. Whitford said Mabel’s tongue had been stitched within 10 minutes of the incident.
“A lot of what’s going around is nonsense,” said Whitford of social media reaction to the photo.
Wigington has filed a complaint with Clarksville Police Department and said she has contacted the Tennessee State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
Recent history of complaints
St. Bethlehem has had some high-profile malpractice complaints in recent years, particularly involving their spay/neuter clinic.
Ronald Whitford, former veterinarian and St. Bethlehem’s owner, forfeited his license in 2020 after an investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health found that him guilty of “gross malpractice,” leading to the 2018 death of Molly, a local family’s German shepherd. Molly’s owners, William and Christopher Everett, were awarded a civil penalty of $1,500 and court costs.
In 2016, Ron Whitford received two years probation after a pit bull died within two hours of a spay procedure.
He is now retired, but he remains owner and proprietor of St. Bethlehem Animal Clinic.