CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Clarksville pet owners say they’ve been put at ease after a local veterinarian surrendered his license to practice.

“It makes me very grateful because he does not need to be practicing as a veterinarian,” dog owner William Everett said.

Back in 2018, Everett and his spouse took their dog to Dr. Ronald Whitford at St. Bethlehem Animal Clinic in Clarksville. Their dog was a 4-year-old German Shepard named Molly they adopted just three months prior.

“We needed our dog spayed because she was going into heat,” Everett said. “I saw his ad on a billboard. And I said O.K., that’s not a bad price. Maybe I should go and look into it.”

After Molly’s appointment, the animal clinic called to deliver bad news.

“They said she had passed away and I was shocked because I did not expect that to happen. It’s a routine spay. You don’t expect your dog to die,” Everett said. “[Dr. Whitford] was cold, uncaring, he didn’t seem like he cared.”

The couple says they decided to file a report with the Tennessee Department of Health. After a necropsy on Molly’s body, the State Board of Veterinary medical examiners found hemorrhaging and no evidence of a proper I.V., which the physician reported he started. The state board found Dr. Whitford in violation of gross malpractice and he was ordered to voluntarily surrender his license and pay a $1,000 fine.

“It makes me feel better knowing that other people won’t go through the trouble that we had to go through,” Everett said.

News 2 reached out to Dr. Whitford for comment. At the time of the airing of this piece, Whitford had not returned our calls.