Animal cruelty suspect Kimberly Nizato, who has been arrested in the felony animal abuse case of Courage the starved German shepherd, worked as a kennel technician for Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Irvine, Calif.
As of right now, she's on extended leave and has been suspended, said Gilbert Velasquez, hospital administrator.
"It's really, really caught us by surprise," said Velasquez just minutes after he broke the news to his staff at the large vet hospital with 85 employees and dozens of specialties. "We are just as shocked as everyone else."
Velasquez said he and Nizato's co-workers didn't even know she had a dog.
Velasquez reported that Nizato, 26, has worked at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital for six months. Her duties were that of a kennel attendant and "floater." Basically, she would "float" between the different hospitals under the practice to see if any kennels needed cleaning or anyone needed help.
"She was always supervised," said Velasquez.
Her work was also beyond reproach, he said. Nizato never arrived late, never called in sick and performed her duties above and beyond.
But many at the practice are puzzled as to why Nizato didn't bring Bosco, now known as Courage, to the hospital, even if she had to say she found him in that condition as stray on the street. She never once brought the dog in for care, said Velasquez.
"She just said it was a big misunderstanding," he said.
For now, Nizato is suspended but is still getting paid temporarily. Velasquez worried about her being able to care for her young child, and he noted he's not going to rush to judgment.
"At least until we know the truth," he said. "[But all of this] took us by surprise."
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Comments
This woman doesn't care one bit about animals... she needs to be FIRED IMMEDIATELY.....
HOw could any human being knowingly leave a living being without food and water? How can she look at herself in the mirror? Karma baby. Karma's going to get you.
Tx for the well done story info. She sure did not misunderstand anything now that she was caught! God punishes people who behave like this. It is also a well known fact that animal abuse and people abuse are more often partners. I would not want her taking care of my PET ROCK.
Fire this piece of garbage immediately! Velasquez said, "at least until we know the truth." Are you kidding me? Look at the pictures pal.....they DON'T lie!
It's important to note that this person is NOT a veterinary technician as has been erroneously pointed out in previous articles. She's a kennel attendant and "floater," meaning that her primary duties include cleaning and holding, not administering medical treatment as is the responsibility of the Veterinary Technician under the supervision of a DVM.
As for firing immediately, there may be legal issues there. As a manager, I would investigate internally, and simply ask her if there's any validity to the charges. If so, yeah, immediate termination. If she is unwilling to state for fear of self-incrimination, suspension WITHOUT pay until resolution of the charges is the most reasonable response. If she pleads guilty to any offense related, or even nolo contende, then absolutely, termination is the only response, but only at that point.
She is only sorry the dog didn't die didn't even bother to dump at a shelter just decide not to bother feeding until it dropped
Nizato must be an animal-lover to work at a veterinary hospital. One would think that. How does one work there and not know "Courage" was in dire straights? The very basic necessity is water. Being deprived of water and food? God forbid this should happen to any breathing entity.
Nizato appears to be competent, but she sure didn't act like it. If she did receive Courage in a bad state of condition, she additionally contributed to his neglect and near-death experience. I sure hope she learns her lesson, and wish a loving family to adopt Courage very soon.
What is her excuse? Does she claim that all the dogs she saw as a "kennel attendant" and a "floater" in the Southern California Specialty Veterinary Hospital look starved, deprived and weak? Ignorance is not an excuse. It needs to STOP being an excuse. Even if this poor soul was dumped on her doorstep in this starved and emaciated condition, she had the immediate resources to offer help. Would anyone give this woman excuses if she worked at a pediatrics office and her child were found in this condition? What she did to this dog is absolutely, on every level, inexcusable. If she has a child CPS needs to be notified.
What an evil looking thing she is
What an evil looking thing she is.
I have had several German Shepherds over the years. They are a wonderful breed and how someone so thoughtless could do this literally makes me sick. I rescued a German Shepherd who was covered with ticks and was on the brink of death - drove 6 hours to get him, but he was well worth it. We were together until "death do us part". If she did not want the poor animal, the least she could have done was take him to a shelter. Why get any animal if you are not going to take care of it. After all, they are members of your family.
Can we not feed her since she's chained up now?
i dont see how anyone can do this, so many cruel people out there. im gald they caught her,but she can never be punished enough for what she has done.
Prestigious vet hospital? With animal abusers working for them? One of the other dogs could be next! She deserves to be fired ASAP and locked up for 5-10 years.
Who's next? HEr won children? People that abuse animals do not do it only once, but switch also to people...
God help this vet hospital clients!
Karma is gonna bit her in the ass....too bad it can't be "Courge" bitting her in the ass.
thats a disgrace she should be chained up and starved herself the evil cow
Absolutely no excuse for this!!!This women should serve time for this..
What an ugly piece of trash, both externally & internally!!! The pig is heartless & does not deserve to work or live in this country! I feel sorry for the innocent children who have the misfortune of being born to her. The best course of action as was said above is to have CPS "save them" & chain her up without water or food; but based on her photo, she could go months without seeing too much difference. As for the place she worked, shame on you for not suspending her immediatly. You are supposed to be an institution that cares for and takes care of animals. But instead of being appauled and intolerant of her animal cruelity, you are condoning it by allowing this piece of trash, A FELON to work for you. I would love to know the name of your facility to make sure myself & anyone I know of Could stay away from you!
I have a beautiful, spoiled German Shepherd that I adopted and it makes me sick what this ugly pig did. She should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO BE AROUND OR EVER HAVE ANOTHER ANIMAL!
She says this is a "MISUNDERSTANDING"? I call bull----!! What really sucks is that this woman is "suspended with pay" and now getting paid to sit on her ass & do nothing. All the while, this baby is still struggling to recover & may never regain full health because of her irresponsible actions. I would NEVER, EVER take my animal to Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital and would hope nobody else who loves their animals would either. These people cannot truly love animals or they would have FIRED HER IMMEDIATELY!!!! There is no excuse for her actions. If they are willing to continue to pay this monster then they obviously support her & condone her actions
Doesn't look like she has missed a meal recently!! I hope she will get the maximum sentence and get to spend several years learning to appreciate prison cuisine! I don't feel sorry for her because she has a child. I shutter to think what her child must go through living with such a horrible monster. She obviously has no compassion for living beings!! And before people say that we should not compare her treatment of an animal to that of a human being think about this.. almost all serial killers started out abusing & neglecting animals for a thrill.. you can never convince me that this woman is a decent human being.. but I won't call her an animal either because I don't want to insult animals.
Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital should be boycotted by all animal lovers to show them that it is ABSOLUTELY not acceptable to protect this monster & continue to pay her for nothing!! What a lesson she is learning, sitting at home on her apparently well fed ass, doing nothing while so many people are trying to save this poor baby. I shutter to think of the level of pain this poor baby had to endure & how he will continue to suffer as he tries to recover
I would LOVE to slap that stupid grin off of her ugly ass face!!
So of those casting stones, do all of you TRULY know what your fellow employees do at home? Be honest. The clinic whose name is being dragged through the mud is a first- class facility,I have observed them in action, and they do a world of good work for sick pets. They are a caring and loving group of people. Nizato's fellow employees have clearly been blind-sided. Be aware of this: On a legal basis, if Nizato is found not guilty, she could come back and sue that clinic for firing her "without cause". THAT is what our twisted legal system has done. It protects NO ONE. Innocent people get tossed to the wolves, and guilty people rarely get caught. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. If guilty, she SHOULD spend time and more, but you can't take down the entire clinic for evil acts done in the privacy of her own home. If you take the time to read the reports, her actions are NOT being condoned by her employer.So stop with the unwarranted smear campaign, already.
As terrible as this case is, the truth is that people who abuse dogs abuse children as well. Jail, yes, surely for starving this wonderful animal. When she is released from jail, she should be closely monitored so that she doesn't come in contact with children and, The Almighty forbid, have any (if she doesn't already.)
Er. All the people screaming for a boycott of the animal shelter is an IDIOT. According to all accounts, her co-workers had zero knowledge of her home situation, so why on earth are you blaming the shelter? You are dumber than a gnat.
"Are" an idiot. LOL
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