A Tampa, Fla. woman has been arrested for allegedly using a steak knife to perform a caesarean section on a dog – with no anesthesia – and then using some glue she had around the house in an attempt to seal the incision.
The dog, a mastiff named Nadia, died shortly after the botched operation, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
The woman, 31-year-old Candace Hauser, is not licensed to practice veterinary care. In fact, she appears to have no veterinary training whatsoever.
However, Hauser believed she was qualified to carry out the complex surgical procedure because she used to work in the office of a Florida medical examiner.
Police say Hauser’s increasingly cruel and barbaric series of decisions began at some point on Mar. 4 when Nadia’s owner, Brenda Hines, rushed the pregnant dog to Hauser’s tiny ranch home for emergency help delivering the impending litter.
Hines lives about 50 miles away, in Winter Haven.
Delivery of the first several puppies was successful.
“Hauser removed nine of the dogs manually, but the last two she could not get,” said Ron Spiller, a Hillsborough County official, according to the Daily Mail.
That’s when Hauser allegedly got out “some type of sharp serrated knife” and decided that an amateur C-section was obviously he way to go.
Spiller noted the failed C-section incision on Nadia looked “jagged.”
Police believe Nadia died in Hines’s car but Hines brought Nadia to Veterinary Healthcare Associates in Winter Haven, presented the animal to a veterinarian and said she believed it was about to die.
The veterinarian who inspected the dog quickly determined that it was already dead.
The total litter of 12 puppies consisted of 10 which were delivered before the bungled C-section and one which died. Another puppy was delivered at a veterinary office.
The 10 pre-C-section puppies are currently healthy and in the care of Hines.
Hauser was booked over the weekend on animal cruelty charges and released on $2,000 bail.
If convicted, she faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Follow Eric on Twitter and on Facebook, and send education-related story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.