CEDAR CITY, Utah — A Cedar City couple is overcome with grief after a local veterinarian allegedly admitted to a "major error" by accidentally euthanizing a beloved family dog.
"She was the life of the party. She just had a very spunky attitude," said Amy Zylks of Lilly, her and her husband Cody's pet Yorkie.
On Friday, the Zylks had made arrangements to take nine-and-a-half-year-old Lilly for an allergy shot at the same vet where they were also taking another pet, Remy, to be cremated after recently dying of old age.
"[We were] trying to get him, basically, into the vet to drop him off because they offer cremation services that are tied to the vet," Cody explained.
Cody brought Remy's remains and Lilly to the office of Dr. Zachary Francisco and confirmed Lilly's allergy shot with the front desk. After a few minutes, Cody brought Lilly to another room where he held the dog while Francisco allegedly administered a shot.
It didn't take Cody long to notice something wasn't right.
"[Cody] asked, he says, 'What's wrong? Why is she going limp?'" Amy explained. "And the doctor says, 'Well, we euthanized her.'"
In disbelief, Cody said they had only brought Lilly in for an allergy shot.
"The vet basically told us... I can't, I can't bring her back. I'll just buy a new dog," Cody said.
Cody shared how he broke down and fell to his knees after hearing the vet explain what had happened.
"I just didn't know exactly why or what was going on," he said. "I was just such in shock that I had fallen to my knees, and I just was asking, 'Why did you do that?'
"She was still a perfectly healthy dog."
During a phone call after the incident, the Zylks claimed Francisco told them that the office had "mixed up their shots," and that a cat had just come in to be euthanized.
The Zylks shared a statement with FOX 13 News that they said came from Dr. Francisco, in which he allegedly admitted to making a "major error" and said he wanted to "express my sincerest apologies to the Zylks family."
FOX 13 News has reached out to Dr. Francisco's office to verify the statement shared by the Zylks, but has yet to receive a response.
For the Zylks, who cannot have children of their own, their dogs are family, and Lilly's accidental death has left them devastated.
"I would just ask any veterinarian to really double-check and make sure what they're doing is what they're supposed to be doing with the animal," said Cody. "Make sure that they take the time and the extra effort to make sure that they properly care for animals and just really make sure that they're not gambling with someone's loved one."
