By Tanya Faulkner
Surprise, shock and horror fills a community of animal lovers and pet owners as a local veterinary clinic undergoes its second investigation in 18 months.
Pets Haven in Bayswater North is under investigation by the RSPCA and Maroondah Council, following accusations of cruelty to animals who have been taken to the clinic for a variety of treatments.
Several Knox locals, including past staff and community members who have had experiences with the clinic have come forward to Star Mail to share their stories.
One local woman adopted her white Husky dog through a fairly well known rescue company, which included immunisation and desexing of the dog, in which she received certification from Pets Haven Bayswater North.
She then found her dog became impregnated by one of her other ‘puppies’, despite having certification from Pets Haven saying she had been desexed.
After realising and sharing what happened in a Facebook post, the woman said she was then threatened with slander by the owners of Pets Haven, and wanted her to hand over the puppies, then continued to “bag” her on social media when she refused to do so.
The woman approached the vet who signed the desexing certificate at AMC Boronia, who stated they had never seen her dog, the signature was forged, and the clinic had stopped working with Pets Haven due to other cases or forgery like this.
Unfortunately, the woman’s story is one of several that have appeared over the years, in particular since the current owners took over the store in October 2021.
One ex-staff member said her experience with the previous owners of the store in her five year tenure working at Pets Haven was vastly different to that with the new owners before her departure.
She said the previous owners would check in with all of the staff daily, ensure the clinic had a deep clean over the holidays to start the year fresh, was much more actively attentive to the animals and would organise fostering straight away where needed, and was willing to get involved and scrub a cage to help her team.
In contrast, the woman said the current owners would not listen to the experienced nurses or vets, would only have one qualified staff member rostered on per shift, would leave animals in cages covered in blood and faeces before they would do a deep clean, because the clinic became so overrun with animals.
Locals who interacted with the clinic for the adoption of pets have also shared terrible experiences.
One local said she lined up for hours to adopt a dog Pets Haven had advertised as needing to go to another dog home.
While in line, as the doors opened, the lady behind her pushed in front and was allowed to purchase the dog – a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or ‘Staffy’.
Her concerns were that the woman was allowed to purchase the dog without any checks being carried out, particularly with Staffy dogs who can be hard to train and look after at times, and later found out the woman did not have dogs at home and therefore did not meet the requirements before taking the dog.
Additionally, she was later denied looking at other dogs bar one, was only allowed to view the dogs if she knew their name, and was denied the ability to view more than one dog.
At the purchase of dogs from Pets Haven, the woman said they had to purchase a compulsory kit for the cost of another $1,000 that was said to have everything purchasers would need for their dog – however in her case everything in the kit wasn’t suitable for a Staffy, didn’t include any food, and was almost “dangerous” for that breed, which she said the staff “didn’t care”.
Another local woman came forward saying the current owners of Pets Haven had “threatened” many who have spoken out against them with legal action, and said a number of members of the community and ex-staff have come together on social media to share their stories.
These stories are just a few of the many that have been shared in a Facebook page created to share experiences as hear the ‘truth’ behind Pets Haven and their procedures.
Posts have been shared with photos and videos from inside the clinic, visualising the horrors being described by locals around the community.
In harrowing videos shared with Star Mail, they show large groups of puppies in cages with no food, faeces and urine all around the cage, some stuck in cages with their own blood, cats in crates being stacked on top of each other for transport – sometimes being bundled in with bags of trash from the clinic.
Previous staff have also shared their experiences at Pets Haven under the new owners before their departure, with allegations of micro management, being regularly worked overtime, texts and messages on rostered days off, even accusations of bullying and belittlement within the workplace when on shifts.
Pets Haven Bayswater North are now undergoing investigations following accusations of animal abuse and neglect, which is the clinic’s second investigation within 18 months.
The clinic was raided seven times in February last year, with fears that many cats and dogs in its care were close to death in their care.
It is understood that no charges were laid by the RSPCA following the investigations last year, however warnings were issued.
RSPCA Victoria Chief Inspector, Michael Stagg said the investigations have come in response to a report received on Friday 15 September.
“RSPCA Victoria Inspectors attended a premises in Bayswater North that afternoon, and were again in attendance at the premises on Monday 18 September.
“The RSPCA Inspector secured the surrender of five sick puppies, who were transported to RSPCA Victoria’s facility at Burwood East,” he said.
As investigations are still underway for any possible offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, no further comments were able to be provided.
A Pets Haven representative said following the initial media reports and RSPCA issues that coincided with their takeover in early 2022, the store has done a comprehensive review and redesign of all operations, procedures and policies.
They say some of their ex-staff and volunteers, who are no longer with the information, are guiding the campaign of ‘misinformation’ that has been seen in recent media articles and on social media.
The representative said they are working to “align the culture of the organisation with the vision of best practice” and are calling on the community to get behind them as they battle through the current investigations and media attention.
According to the representative, as part of clinic improvements, they have changed the operating model to reduce the number of seriously ill animals in care, and say they are doing their best to take care of animals in their clinic.
“Many animals come to our clinic to be re-homed and it is a disappointing truth that many of these animals have not enjoyed a healthy or rewarding life prior to arriving at Pets Haven.
“We regularly receive animals that are malnourished, injured, sick or mistreated in some way.
“They are often scared, timid and in unfamiliar surroundings.
“All of the animals we receive are provided prompt veterinary treatment, with some animals requiring urgent and significant veterinary intervention.
“Pets Haven has qualified veterinary practitioners on staff who are either on site or available on call,” they said.
In data shared with Star Mail, the Pets Haven representative said they are “proud to publicly state that the euthanasia statistics have reduced by approximately 350 per cent under the new management”.
“This is a clear indication of our unwavering commitment to the welfare of the animals in our care,” they said.
It was stated that this data has been reported to Agriculture Victoria.
The Bayswater clinic representative said as part of their ongoing commitment to animal welfare and to ensure transparency, they have actively requested the relevant nearby councils, including Maroondah Council, to visit the clinic unannounced and conduct regular inspections at their facilities.
“To date, no serious non-compliance issues have been identified and any feedback received are assessed and then implemented as an opportunity.
“We are passionate to demonstrate our pro-life ethos and we are fighting for the life and wellbeing of every animal in our care,” they said.
Pets Haven Bayswater have “opened our doors to the community”, and said they are grateful for the large number of regular visitors who support them daily.
“We are proud of the work that we do with the limited resources at our disposal, through the involvement of the community, we wish to expand and grow our efforts,” they said.
Maroondah Council were contacted for comment on the matter, and have not responded.
RSPCA Victoria said if anyone has concerns about the welfare of an animal, they are encouraged to make a report to RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate on rspcavic.org/tip-off-form/ or call 9224 2222.
