Hastings Vet Under Scrutiny Again After Dog Loses Leg

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More Minnesota families are coming forward with complaints about a veterinarian that a WCCO investigation first exposed for burning a dog so badly that it died.

Kaiya passed away after being hooked up to a heating pad for too long at Town and Country Veterinary in Hastings.

Bella broke her leg, and her owners say for months the same clinic struggled to fix it.

Now, WCCO investigates the latest complaint against the same doctor that has left a different dog without a leg.

Mary Larson brought her Pomeranian home a decade ago as a puppy.

"Everybody growing up, if they saw me they knew Riley was there, too," Larson said.

But this last year, his size and color seem to hide what he has been through.

"Middle of December we noticed he wasn't bearing weight on his back right leg," Larson said.

A trip to Town and Country Veterinary confirmed Riley broke his leg. Medical records show Dr. Jon Woodman recommended placing a pin to connect his broken bones.

Weeks passed without problems, until Dr. Woodman noticed something was wrong.

"He comes back in telling me he has bad news, the pin is bent and he needs to do another surgery," Larson said.

Riley got a plastic cast this time. The day before one of his check-ups, Larson says Riley's pin hit her shin. Dr. Woodman then delivered more bad news.

"He comes back to tell us the pin is broken and the only options are amputation or euthinazation," she said.

That is when Larson left Dr. Woodman for a different vet to do the amputation.

"He broke the leg between the hip and the knee and they took the hip," Larson said.

She had planned to put it all behind her when she heard about Bella's broken leg on WCCO -- an incident that lead to a temporary suspension of Dr. Woodman's license.

"I thought I was going to be sick," Larson said. "It sounded so unbelievably familiar."

Larson has now filed a formal complaint with the Minnesota Veterinary Board of Medicine. That investigation is now underway.

"I don't want him near any other animal," Larson said.

Robert Kuderer, Dr. Woodman's attorney, gave a statement to WCCO.

"Dr. Woodman is gratified by the outpouring of support he continues to receive from his clientele since the first news story was aired," Kuderer said. "He has had many false allegations against him and he denies the gist of what is alleged in the complaint."