Two men were arrested in Florida last week after a TikTok video allegedly showed one of them performing an unlicensed caesarean section on a French bulldog.
Larry Colon reportedly paid an unlicensed man to perform the operation on his dog, Lyla, while his teenage daughter was filming her, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities identified the man who performed the cesarean section as Frankie Huertas Rivera, who is not a state-licensed veterinarian.
An animal cruelty investigator visited Colon’s home in Clermont, about 25 miles west of Orlando, last week after concerns were raised about a TikTok video posted by Colon’s daughter, said a likely cause statement. The video, provided to NBC News by the sheriff’s office, shows a white dog being placed on a table and a man taking her puppies out of it while the dog squirmed in apparent pain.
Colon told investigators that Rivera claimed he was a veterinarian and paid the man $ 650 for the procedure, according to the statement. Colon later took Lyla to a veterinary hospital, where a really licensed veterinarian told authorities that the dog was dead on arrival.
The animal hospital doctor said she suspected Lyla died of septic shock due to contamination from the unlicensed procedure. The dog still had two unborn puppies inside her, who also died.
Colon reportedly told the animal hospital staff that the caesarean section in Lyla “was performed at his home by a friend of a friend who is not licensed,” said the statement. He also told the team that he was “trying to save money and knew this was not what should have been done.”
Lyla’s surviving puppies were not seen by a veterinarian at the time the animal cruelty investigator visited Colon’s home, the statement said.
Colon faces an animal cruelty charge and was released on bail on Friday. He declined to comment to NBC News during a phone call on Wednesday.
Rivera is also facing an animal cruelty charge, with an additional charge of illegal veterinary practice. He did not return a call from NBC News on Wednesday.
