William Baber, Tennessee Vet Gone Bad.

Euthanasia is suppose to be merciful. When William Baber had his way, it was far from it. Baber used the very cruel " heart stick " method minus the sedation. This means that the animals could spend as long as 30 agonizing minutes before death actually occurred. Undercover video showed that William Baber even stepped on the animals to immobilize them for the injection. Do I sound like I am describing an executioner and not a veterinarian? Very sad, isn't it? The video showed dogs’ tails visibly wagging and cats are flailing before they’re given the lethal injection. "It’s just a horrible, horrible way for an animal to die,” said former euthanasia technician June McMahon. Tennessian.com reported that " still conscious, the cats were described by inmates as 'going wild' after being placed in a container, with as many as 10-15 of them being dumped on top of each other in a 'cruel manner,' authorities allege.These animals were allegedly placed into an incinerator without ever verifying that they were dead before being incinerated. " It was also reported that the killings were performed within view and earshot of other animals.

The proper way to euthanize a dog/cat is to give the lethal injection intravenously. William Baber does it his own way which is a direct injection to the heart without sedation while a jail trustee holds up the animal. What happens then? According to an unnamed source, “He hits them with the needle. They flip. They flop. They’re just basically going nuts. They’re yelping.” This method violates state and national guidelines. The state's Non-livestock Animal Humane Death Act states that “intracardial injection by hypodermic needle [should] only if performed on heavily sedated, anesthetized, or comatose animals.” Why does Baber use this method? Well, supposedly, it takes less time to do intracardial injections than intravenous ones. Baber reportedly killed approximately 3,000 dogs and cats last year, netting him $9 per animal. That's around $25,000 earnings from this cruel procedure alone. I'd hate to think that his motive could be something else than financial profit.

William Baber, a licensed vet with his own practice, was first suspended then reinstated. Then, he was again suspended and fined last December by the Tennessee Board of Veterinary Medicine. For me, that's still a slap on the wrist considering the number of animals who suffered unnecessarily in Baber's hands. Baber's excuse was that he was unaware that the law had changed ( disallowing intracardial injections unless specified ) many years ago. This lame excuse suggests that it was not his responsibility to keep up with changes in veterinary law, and that the board should have informed him of all the changes.

William Baber's problems don't stop there. He has now been arrested and charged with 12 counts of misdemeanor. “Although the veterinarian board had already taken their action relating to Dr. Baber’s license, that doesn’t relieve us of our obligation and our duty to follow through with the law,” Sumner County District Attorney Thomas Dean said. “Where a law’s been broken, we are required to follow through with an appropriate prosecution and that’s what we’re doing.”

On January 16, Baber will face the following charges in court:
-Two counts of Unlawful Intracardial Injection of Dogs
-Two counts of Unverified Deaths of Dogs
-Two counts of Unverified Deaths of Cats
-Two counts of Cruelty to Animals - Dogs
-Two counts of Cruelty to Animals - Cats
-Two counts of Falsifying Government Records

He faces a possibility of up to 11 months 29 days in jail for each charge or as little as just probation. This man should never be allowed to practice veterinary medicine at any level. More often than not, the obviously guilty finds a friend in those who are suppose to punish them thoroughly. The board copped out on making the right decision. It's up to law enforcement now to mete out a proper penalty.