A Connecticut veterinarian was charged Thursday in connection with the death of a puppy who was left too long on a heating pad — his second arrest on animal cruelty charges, police said.
Authorities said Amr Wasfi, who has run the Black Rock Animal Hospital in Bridgeport since 1977, was scheduled to crop the 10-week-old puppy’s ears recently, but told the owners it had died when they came to pick up the dog the day after they brought it to the hospital.
Bridgeport police said in a statement that an investigation showed the dog died of overheating due to being left on a heating pad for an “extended period.”
Last year, Wasfi was charged with animal cruelty on allegations he killed a kitten and performed unnecessary surgery on a dog. That case remains pending.
Wasfi was detained on $10,000 bond after Thursday’s arrest. No one answered the phone at the animal hospital Thursday afternoon. A message seeking comment was left with a lawyer representing Wasfi on the charges filed last year.
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Wasfi has a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Cairo University in Egypt and a doctorate in small animal surgery from Vienna Medical School in Austria, according to the animal hospital’s website.
Bridgeport police are asking any pet owners who believe Wasfi committed criminal conduct with their pets to come forward.
