Vet Indicted for Punching Chihuahua

I'm sad, but happy tonight. Have you all seen the story of the vet who hit a 5 lb. chihuahua? Well, today he was indicted. I'm very happy about that. I can't believe someone who is supposed to take care of pups like me would hit a tiny defenseless little dog. The poor little girl's eye was popped out of her socket.

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Vet accused of punching dog indicted
Becky Bartkowski and Michael Kiefer
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 10, 2007 12:52 PM

A Sun City West veterinarian accused of animal abuse and theft has been indicted.

A grand jury issued Dr. Joshua Winston's criminal indictment on June 29. Winston was charged with one count of animal abuse, a felony, and one count of misdemeanor theft.

"These allegations are very disturbing, especially against a veterinarian," said Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. "People who entrust their pets to veterinarians have every right to expect good medical care, not vicious abuse."

Winston was arrested June 11 after being accused of punching Bella, a five-pound Chihuahua five times in the head. Winston allegedly struck the Chihuahua's head three to five times and dislodged the dog's eye on June 4.

Winston was unable to repair the eye damage and sewed it shut, Thomas said. Bella needed corrective surgery after the incident.

Two veterinary technicians witnessed the abuse and said that the uncooperative dog angered Winston. One of the witnesses reported that Winston struck Bella three times, Thomas said.

Winston had a history with the Chihuahua, named Bella, since he performed a cesarean section for Bella's birth last year.

The theft charges come from a separate incident in earlier this year, when Winston was to vaccinate a Neapolitan Mastiff and instead of vaccinating the dog, Winston shot the vaccination into the air and charged the dog's owner, Jeff Orth, $80.

"We will aggressively prosecute this case," Thomas said at the conference.

Jean Steenbock, a customer of Winston's, said, "I'm very disappointed."

"I had hoped that if he could tell his side of the story things would have turned out differently," Steenbock said.

Steenbock has a 14-year-old Bichon she needs euthanized and said she was planning to have Winston perform the procedure.

“As long as Joshua Winston is a vet practicing out here, I will continue to use him,” Steenbock said.

Winston is the owner of Sun City West Animal Hospital and is the sole doctor at the hospital.

The Arizona State Veterinary Examining Board and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. The County Attorney's Office filed a complaint with the Arizona State Veterinary Examining Board, and Thomas thanked Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his officials for their continued fight against animal abuse.
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