Case Details

Vet with prior cruelty convictions investigated
Sydney, NSW (AU)

Date: Dec 16, 2005
Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Mahmoud Kalil, DVM

Case ID: 7083
Classification: Unclassified
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Suspect was in animal welfare field
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A Sydney vet who was barred from practising in the US after being convicted on six counts of animal cruelty is being investigated by the NSW Veterinary Surgeons Board.

The Daily Telegraph revealed on December 16 Dr Mahmoud Kalil was allowed to practice in Australia, despite being barred from working in the US.

In January 2006, it was learned the body that registers vets in NSW - the Veterinary Surgeons Board - is investigating a serious complaint of animal neglect levelled against Dr Kalil.

The complaint was made by Belrose woman Carolyn Dowling whose English cocker spaniel was put down after being boarded for nine days at Dr Kalil's Beacon Hill surgery.

During that nine days Amber lost almost 3kg and developed hypoglycaemia, dehydration and major electrolyte disturbances. During emergency treatment from another vet, she was also diagnosed with renal disease. Dr Kalil said he would not comment on the complaint but said he and his nurse had not done "anything wrong at all".

He said Amber was old and in poor condition when she was brought in.

Mrs Dowling said 12-year-old Amber had been given a clean bill of health by their usual vet before being sent to Dr Kalil to board.

Dr Kalil said Amber's health had deteriorated only in the past few hours of her stay with him and Mrs Dowling refused to allow him to treat the dog.

Mrs Dowling said when they had gone to pick Amber up at 10.30am on January 2 they were told the kennel was closed and to come back the next day.

But Dr Kalil then contacted them at 4pm to say Amber had lost control of her bladder and seemed to be confused and disorientated.

"At that point I rang up our vet but got a recorded message saying they were closed but that we should take emergency cases to the after-hours animal hospital," she said.

"After the phone call I didn't trust him [Dr Kalil] and I just wanted to get Amber to someone who could help her.

"When we got there she was still wet from her bath in the morning, she couldn't walk, she was almost dead in my arms and she was in obvious distress. It was heartbreaking.

"We took her to Forrestville - seven minutes away - they began emergency treatment on her straight away."

By 10.30pm, Northside Emergency Veterinary Clinic asked the Dowlings to make the decision to put her down.

In a report to the Veterinary Surgeon's Board, Dr Jason Lovell wrote of Amber's health when she was first brought in to the Northside surgery: "She was moribund, unresponsive, in lateral recumbency and had laboured breathing. She was vocalising in distress ... It's impossible to think this dog had become this ill in just the past 12 hours."

The Veterinary Surgeons Board yesterday declined to comment.

Dr Kalil was last night still listed as a registered veterinary surgeon in NSW.

References

The Daily Telegraph - Jan 23, 2006

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