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Pet Owners Say Dogs Shouldn't Have Died After Spaying At Animal Clinic

(CBS) – You never expect your pet to die after getting spayed.

But a Chicago veterinarian is being sued, and some dog owners are calling for his clinic to be shut down after they lost their pets.

Eve was a four-year-old red Doberman Pinscher who went for a routine spaying at the Calumet Animal Clinic in early February.

Gerrie Harris says the vet phoned the morning after to say Eve had died. Shocked by the death of her healthy dog, Harris turned to the Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine for answers.

"They found out during a necropsy that my baby had actually bled to death … They found that she lost 80 percent of her blood," an emotional Harris tells CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez.

Then Harris learned of another pet – a 5-year-old Shepard named Milly -- that also bled to death after a routine spaying in March.

Millie's owner, Corey Dafnis, wouldn't talk on camera but has filed suit against the Calumet Animal Clinic and Dr. Charles Carter Matthews, accusing him of professional malpractice, fraud and negligence.

The suit claims the clinic "failed to properly perform Milly's surgery or monitor Milly following the surgery."  The suit also claims the vet had an expired license for administering drugs.

"They're not just animals. They are family," Harris says.

She thinks had the dogs been checked on overnight, they could have been saved. She says two deaths in such a short span of time demand action at the clinic.

"I want it closed. I want it closed for the safety of any other animal that ever steps foot in there," she says.

Dr. Matthews, a veterinarian for more than 40 years, says the dogs were treated appropriately.

"Our hearts go out to the Dafnis family for the loss of Milly. With respect to Eve, a ... pathology report determined (she)… suffered from a blood disorder," the clinic said in a statement. "Although we are eager to address the untrue and hurtful allegations, there is not much further we can discuss right now due to pending litigation."

About a dozen clients of the clinic have written emails supporting the vet.

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