Video shot and edited by Fabiola Esqueda.
The Peninsula Pet Clinic, and its owner Dr. Anyes Van Volkenburgh, has been met with criticism ranging from negligent treatment of pets to rude customer service. This ultimately culminated in a protest on Aug. 14.
The protest was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m, but organizers arrived before the hour.
“We’re just here to make the public aware, we don’t want more pets going through this,” Sidni Torres, one of the organizers, stated.
Along the sidewalk were picket signs with pictures of pets and their stories, from being falsely diagnosed with cancer to receiving what was deemed unnecessary treatment after a second veterinarian opinion.
“Everyone thought it was an isolated incident. The more it got on social media, the more people sent us their stories and they’re all heartbreaking,” Torres.
Social media was instrumental in allowing those who had similar experiences to begin to organize. A private Facebook group for those opposed to the Peninsula Pet Clinic was created by Mitzi Morin, another organizer.
“[Morin] provided all the resources: who to complain to, who to send your letters to, the Department of Veterinary Medicine[‘s contact information],” Torres stated.
The protest came to fruition through the Facebook page as well.
“Ang [Marie], Beth [Allsbrook] have spent the last three weeks making picket signs, contacting people and hearing their stories,” Torres stated.
“It takes a village … we are Pedro strong and we will not let anyone rip us off and our beloved pets,” Morin stated.
Treslyn Britton, who worked alongside the organizers, shared her personal experience with Dr. Van Volkenburgh’s practice. One day her healthy rescue dog, Supernova, had a problem with constipation.
“It was a Sunday, the only vet that was open — if you want to call her a vet — was Peninsula Pet Clinic,” Britton stated.
Dr. Van Volkenburgh told Britton that Supernova had a tumor and needed immediate emergency surgery.
“I immediately had red flags, this was a really healthy running dog. If there was something wrong with my dog I would have known it. She wanted the money upfront; I panicked and said okay.”
Four hours later, Britton received a call that Dr. Van Volkenburgh began the emergency surgery. After the surgery Supernova was laying in a bed with a tube in his mouth.
“I asked her to show me what she did, she rolled him over and he was cut from the very top of his body all the way down to his groin area. Butchered, stapled, still half alive.”
After Britton asked Dr. Van Volkenburgh to attempt to help him, “[Dr. Van Volkenburgh] picked him up and started shaking him and then told me that she could give me the phone number for the cremation place and walked away. That was it.”
“She needs to get her license taken away, it needs to happen,” Britton concluded.
In contrast to the protest, Peninsula Pet Clinic appeared as if it were being met with a celebration. With multicolored balloons decorating the storefront, the clinic was also accompanied by a DJ booth blasting music.
In front of Peninsula Pet Clinic, a police car arrived right before 11 a.m. Officer Juan Terezzas stated that he “can’t disclose who called, [he was] just here to keep the peace.” He then left to “go have conversations [with the protestors that] if they follow ‘x’ amount of rules we’ll have no problem.”
Meanwhile, an exchange occurred between two men in front of Peninsula Pet Clinic. One of the men was walking away from Peninsula Pet Clinic while the other was walking towards the clinic cradling a puppy.
“Don’t take your dog here,” the man said to the latter. He went on to discuss the money gouging he just experienced.
After hearing the man’s comment and glancing at the protestors, the second man stated, “I’ll go somewhere else then.”
Near the front of the Peninsula Pet Clinic, a car slowly drove by to watch the protest. The driver was a previous employee of Peninsula Pet Clinic who did not want their identity to be disclosed.
“Everything that you guys read is true and ten times more,” the former employee stated.
They shared that they worked for the old owners but under the new leadership they could no longer work in the environment.
“She put us through post traumatic stress [and] she belittled us in front of the customers. She would get mad at us if we didn’t overcharge the estimates.”
Along with the protestors on Western Avenue, there were protestors migrating to W 25th Street, to cover the other two entrances of the Pacific View Center, the shopping center where the Peninsula Pet Clinic is located.
Protesting on W 25th Street was Andrew Sison, who heard about the protest through Facebook. Sison shared his experience with Dr. Van Volkenburgh that brought him to the protest.
On a Sunday evening his dog had stomach pains and did not want to eat. Peninsula Pet Clinic was the only clinic open during the holiday weekend it occurred.
“The doctor came in and the first thing she said was ‘Oh he’s not going to make it’,” Sison stated.
She then informed Sison that his dog would need to stay overnight. Sison agreed and planned to pick him up in the morning.
“On my way to go pick him up, I get a phone call from the clinic and they tell me that he passed away an hour ago. I was shocked because I was expecting to pick up my dog.”
“So this is all I got,” Sison stated as he showed his dog’s ashes.
After losing his dog, Sison was sent a bill for $7,000, despite being initially told it would cost $3,500. Sison discussed that he had proof that he was double charged and it was ultimately sorted out, but the employees “were very rude” throughout the process.
“She needs to be shut down and her license revoked. She is doing malpractice from what I’m reading in the reviews and hearing from other people.”
At around 12 p.m. protestors from all entrances of the Pacific View Center began a picket line to the front of Peninsula Pet Clinic. The protestors began to chant “Shut her down!”
An employee walked out and stated, “It’s my second day here, you can have your opinion but what we’re not going to do is be disrespectful.”
The protestors were unfazed and continued their chants.
Then, a Peninsula Pet Clinic patron stepped out and shouted that the ruckus was scaring her dog. A protestor responded, “You’re lucky you still have your dog!”
Some protestors began to shout “Murderer!,” while Dr. Van Volkenburgh stood behind the receptionist counter, watching the scene.
Around 12:16 p.m. two additional police officers arrived.
“We have to leave and go back to Western,” Torres declared.
The police presence ushered most of the protestors back to their posts at the entrances of the shopping center. Some protestors lingered while police stood by the storefront.
The protest concluded at around 1 p.m., but organizers shared that their work is not done.
“We don’t want to just chase her out of town because then she’ll just exploit, rip off and — sorry — kill other animals,” Morin stated.
The group may continue to plan protests until the Veterinary Medical Board revokes Dr. Van Volkenburgh’s license.
“We’ll be here as long as it takes, we don’t want any more pets suffering,” Torres stated.
Dr. Van Volkenburgh never responded to Random Lengths News inquiry for a comment, however, on the Peninsula Pet Clinic business Facebook page Dr. Van Volkenburgh has made numerous posts in response to the protest.
“To all the idiots who protested my clinic on Saturday: We’d like to thank you for all the publicity, we had a fabulous, super busy weekend and we helped 82 pets get better.
We extend our deepest thanks for the free promotion. Come back soon! We look forward to your future visits!,” the Facebook post signed by “Dr. V and Staff” stated.
One post leaked unverified information about those deemed as protest leaders.
Another post was addressed to the police officers who responded to the scene.
“Great job Harbor Division on letting chaos reign and allowing idiots to attack an animal hospital and its clients with sick animals. That’s aiding and abetting criminals. You side with scum instead of upstanding businesses that pay your salary with their taxes. So much for serve and protect. Thanks.” the Facebook post signed only by “Dr. V” stated.