Chicago woman takes dog to vet for teeth cleaning, only for dog to be mistakenly spayed

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago dog owner is furious with a local animal hospital after she brought her dog in to get her teeth cleaned only for her to be accidentally spayed.

Ashley Jenkins said her 10-year-old cavapoo Savannah was due for a routine teeth cleaning.

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"I was nervous, but I knew it was something that needed to be done," she said "I've had Savannah for 10 years, since she was eight weeks old. So yes, she is my baby."

Jenkins took her dog to Banfield Pet Hospital in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, a location the dog has been to before.

A few hours after dropping Savanah off, Jenkins said she got a disturbing call from the medical director at Banfield about what they called "a slight mix-up."

"Instead of Savannah getting her teeth cleaning, she got spayed, and she said it just like that," Jenkins said. "And I'm like... 'excuse me?' 'How did that happen?!'"

She said the director told her there was another dog that looked similar to Savannah, and that's how the mistake happened.

"I'm in shock! I'm baffled. I'm confused," she said. "When I saw Savannah, I had tears. I had tears in my eyes. She looked at me like, you let them do this to me. I shattered."

Jenkins said if she was ever going to get Savannah spayed, it wouldn't be at 10 years old.

"I don't want to put her through any unnecessary stress, surgeries. I would have never done this to her," she said.

The ABC7 I-Team reached out to Banfield and a spokesperson responded, saying in part, "Banfield has existing measures in place to prevent errors from happening and we're thoroughly investigating what occurred. All other patients in the hospital received the intended care they were scheduled for. We are taking this matter seriously and working directly with the family to address their questions and concerns, as well as extend our sincere apologies."

Jenkins said Banfield offered to schedule Savannah for a teeth cleaning in the coming weeks.

"Are you kidding me? You think i would trust you with my dog again?" she said. "Both of our rights were snatched from us."

Banfield told the I-Team the health, safety, and wellbeing of pets is their top priority, and they are committed to providing high-quality care to the millions of pets they see every year.

Banfield said they are glad to hear Savannah is recovering well and remain committed to providing and covering the cost of any related care.

Jenkins and her husband are considering legal action against Banfield.