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Two Santa Clarita Veterinary Clinics Accused Of Negligence, At Risk Of License Revocation

Two Santa Clarita veterinary clinics and a third clinic in Lancaster are at risk of having their licenses revoked after multiple complaints of negligence and unprofessional conduct, officials said. 

Dr. Balpal Sandhu operates all three clinics named in the filing, including All Creatures Veterinary Center in Newhall, Canyon Country Veterinary Animal Hospital in Canyon Country and AV Animal Veterinary Center in Lancaster.

The complaints come from a time while Sandhu was on professional probation, affecting 15 different pets, eight of which had died while in the care of Sandhu’s facilities or soon after treatment. 

Sandhu was placed on license probation on May 29, 2016, as a result of the Veterinary Medical Board finding one cause of negligence, one cause of record-keeping violations and one cause for anesthesia violations. 

The new cases brought to the attention of the attorney general in the latest filing took place between January of 2016 and November of 2018, with 11 cases taking place while Sandhu was on probation.

Pet Patients

In September 2018, Edward Feinstein took his 3-year-old chihuahua mix, Fiona, to the AV Veterinary Clinic for emergency treatment after she had been attacked by a large dog. 

Fiona was reportedly directly under the care of Sandhu for at least four hours, a time for which two causes for discipline have been filed with the attorney general for decisions made during Fiona’s case, including negligence and failure to maintain proper records.

Fiona was transferred to the Acute Critical Care and Emergency Surgical Service (ACCESS) in Los Angeles before succumbing to her injuries. 

For Feinstien, the damage to his trust in veterinary health professionals — and the emotional impact of the loss of a beloved pet — is irreversible.

“It’s very unfortunate Dr. Sandhu has soiled the trust clients have in veterinarians. If I had not taken Fiona to ACCESS, I never would have known the extent of negligence and incompetence he and his ‘emergency’ hospital bestowed upon her,” said Feinstein. 

The documents state that Sandhu “committed negligence by failing to expedite exploratory surgery for animal patient Fiona, resulting in Fiona’s deterioration and eventual death” after she had been transferred to ACCESS.

“What’s even more scary is that even though he was already on probation for negligence, he continued to demonstrate these heinous acts, not only on Fiona, but countless other patients that their owners are now coming forward,” Feinstein said.

Of the 15 cases included in the filing, eight patients —  including two cats and six dogs — were reported to have died possibly in connection to their medical issues and subsequent treatment at the clinics in question. All but one of the 15 were directly treated by Sandhu personally, with the final case his responsibility as a licensee manager.

Probation

In late August of 2013, a dog identified as Betty had been treated by Sandhu at the A.V. Veterinary Center for hind leg injuries sustained during a fight with another dog, including multiple fractures and dislocations.

The treatment Betty reportedly received was found lacking, as was the recordkeeping associated with the incident, including reports of strength, dose and frequency of all medications administered, according to the 2016 report. 

In addition, the leg surgery itself was not documented properly, recorded as a “cranio-plantar-incision,” which is noted by officials as being incorrect terminology.

“This is a confusing term given that ‘cranial”’ means ‘toward the head’ (and while not typically used when referring to extremities) would refer to the top of the foot, while ‘plantar’ refers to the bottom of the foot,” reads the report. “The standard approach for a surgery such as the one at issue would be from the front.”

Betty has made a full recovery under the care of another veterinarian, according to official documents.

The probation was meant to last three years, according to the 2016 ruling.

In light of the new developments in the case, five causes to revoke the license have been filed against Sandhu.

Amongst those allegations include: failure to obey all laws related to veterinary medicine, failure to comply with quarterly reports requirement, failure to file monthly supervisor reports, failure to submit proof of community service by the required date and failure to complete continuing education courses.

Calls to the Canyon Country Veterinary Animal Hospital and All Creatures Veterinary Center were redirected to the AV Veterinary Center. Sandhu did not return any calls for comment as of the publication of this story.

The case filed on Nov. 4 includes 41 causes for discipline and five causes to revoke his license filed against Sandhu and his three clinics. 

The case has been brought in front of the Veterinary Medical Board in the Department of Consumer Affairs for the State of California. If the recommended actions are accepted, Sandhu’s veterinary license would be revoked, along with the hospital licenses for all three clinics.


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Two Santa Clarita Veterinary Clinics Accused Of Negligence, At Risk Of License Revocation

60 comments

  1. All I can say is I am not surprised … a few years ago I accompanied my son and his new pup to the All Creatures Vet Clinic on Lyons in Newhall for emergency care. I am not a vet, but have worked with hundreds of human patients throughout the years and did not feel comfortable with his treatment of our new pup. He proposed an expensive procedure and medications without a good diagnosis, so I told my son we were taking the pup home to watch overnight. She was much better than next day having recovered without his “excessive” and costly care.

  2. Good. All creatures gave my beautiful bulldog a lethal dose of morphine. Killed her. Revoke his license permanently

  3. I took a dog there years ago and she came back more in pain than when we took her. The poor thing also came back with a broken tooth. They said that it happened while they were cleaning her teeth but we did not take her in for that.
    We had a marked suspicion they did not use anesthesia when they removed a boil on her side. We assumed the tooth was damaged somehow as she attempted to defend herself. I called complained and literally raised hell, but got no place and never returned for further treatments. Glad to see they are getting their dues

    • I have no complaints against All Creatures. When our cat injured herself and had a long gash on her side, we were there when the staff gave her anesthesia. They sewed the wound up.

  4. I thought Hindu’s just ate dogs.

  5. I used to use Canyon Country Vet Hospital. Worst treatment ever. It did not matter what I took my dogs there for, they want to take tons of X-rays and do dozens of tests. And then they would say they are inconclusive and would need to be sent a specialist. They are completely incompetent. And I kept all the medical records to prove it. Luckily, I changed vets before their incompetence killed one of my pets.

    • Not sure if we’re talking about the same Canyon Country Vet Hospital, but we were there earlier this year with our two dogs who were ill. They did tests which we thought were necessary. They treated our dogs and all went well.

  6. We took our fur baby Pumba in All Creatures Vet & that place was very very very horrible! They told us that our pup needs platelet transfusion, IV hydration, lab test etc. as a fur mom we did everything what we can even the cost was pretty expensive. After 5days being hospitalized they said we are ready to discharged to home & our fur baby is finally okay. A day after we took Pumba home we just found him not breathing anymore. I’m glad that this DVM & Vets are getting their own dose of their own medicine!

    • We’ve been going to All Creatures for quite some time now and to tell you the truth, we’re happy with the service we’ve been getting. Having said that, my husband and I closely monitor anything that they do to our dogs.

  7. Had a negative experience here a few years ago. Brought my very ill senior dog b/c her regular vet was unable to see her. They told me that we would need to wait for quite a while b/c all the staff were busy tending to a dog that had been hit by a car and had sustained multiple injuries. After two hours of waiting in the waiting room, a group of staff members came in the front door, talking and chatting, carrying their to-go coffee cups. Seems like staff had been busy taking their break. That alone was a breach of trust for me. So when the vet (not Dr Sandhu) said they were busy but to just leave my dog there and they would run tests later, I told her thanks but no thanks, I would be taking my dog elsewhere. At the front desk, the lady hands me a form and says without explanation, “You need to sign this.” I notice it is an AMA form (leaving) ‘against medical advice’. I told her I’m not signing anything b/c I had simply changed my mind about having my dog treated there. She said I needed to sign it. Uh, nope. Left there with my sick dog and found another office to see her.

  8. I was relieved to read this article. Not only is the doctor incompetent but his staff as well. In May my 14 lb rabbit broke her hind leg. I called ahead to see if they could see her. I was assured she could be seen and to come right away. I got there no more than 10 minutes later. I was “greeted” by a girl who told me to hold on to check if a doctor was available….(I had literally just called). She went into a room and proceeded to have a conversation and laugh & laugh for about 10 minutes. When they were done the girl walked out, told me they couldn’t see my rabbit and there must of been a misunderstanding on the phone call. I’m not sure how “my rabbit has a broken leg, can we come in?” Be confused for literally anything else. We ended up going elsewhere and she recovered. They also do not return calls or email inquiries or online appointment set ups.

    • Were there other pet patients? We were there two weeks ago because our cat suffered a broken leg. We called first and got to the clinic around 30 minutes later. We were greeted and accommodated almost immediately. But again, that was because we were the only ones there at the time.

  9. We brought our Cat there and he ran the bill up and mis diagnosed
    Essentially killed her, worst vet ever

  10. I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Sandhu. He has treated 3 of my dogs for the past 6 years, and they all lived their full life expectancy. Not once did Dr Sandhu misdiagnose my dogs health issues, and he was always extremely kind and compassionate.

  11. My dog received the same negligent treatment at one of the SCV sites. As a result, my dog is dead, and I will never forget what this vet did! Hope his license is revoked!

    • What exactly happened? I’ve been taking my dogs to All Creatures and I’ve been happy with the results. I’m sorry to hear about your dog, but perhaps it’s an isolated incident.

  12. I am one of the complaintaints in this report. Clay aka Clayzie. What he has done has torn me and our family apart. I have not been the same since and have had to actually seek therapy due to the intense grief and guilt that letting AV Vet hurt my kitty caused. I am so very glad that I at least filed a report with the Vet Board because it seems that they are taking it very seriously and that something will hopefully be done to help those that were harmed find closure and to ensure that no more animals are hurt at the hands of these places!!!

    • How can I file a complaint? I didn’t know this vet was on a 3 year professional probation period of 3 years & had serious malpractice & negligence charges filed against him. I NEVER would have taken my dog to him. My dog is dead, he was 5. This vet & his staff are responsible. Please let me know how to file a complaint. The vet & his entire staff knew how my dog’s death impacted me. They were a witness to my grief.

    • I’m not sure what happened to your kitty. I think it would be better if you were more specific. We’ve always brought our cats to AV and they’ve always met our expectations.

    • Hi, how long did it take for them to answer your complaint? I filed one and I want his license revoked but I’m not sure where to go from there.

  13. On Aug. 23rd, 2019, at the Antelope Valley hospital in Lancaster, the vet “DR. SAHIB VANDER” whom I think might possibly also be using the name BALPAL SANDHU above, administered a lethal dose of a very strong anti biotic to our Dachshund, Dodger, who only weighed 13 lbs. He went in there for some PILLS ONLY which would help with his Pancreatitis that he has had before in the past. He had no infection or fever and didn’t need an anti biotic. This vet gave him 100 MG. of Enrofloxacin in an injection, and within 6 hrs. our alert, happy, Dachshund became too weak to even lift his head and went into constant seizures. We had to put him to sleep that morning to put him out of his misery. Our hearts are BROKEN as he was our favorite dog and irreplaceable. The vet had been mad that we wouldn’t leave him over night and run up a $1,700 to $2,000 vet bill, which we had already done once. I think he deliberately killed our dog with that lethal injection. I read on line that this particular anti biotic injection was not used by many vets because it can cause seizures and especially not 100 mg. injected into a small dog. I hope this vet rots in hell.

    • I’m so sorry that happened to you & your dog!
      My dog was seen 2 weeks before his death by the Canyon Country location. No one told me my dog was sick. I paid $400 for 2 dogs & they didn’t even get shots! When I brought my chihuahua/dachshund back, he was in “critical condition” as this vet said. He offered to give my dog a shot of an antibiotic. I asked what that would do for my dog since the doctor didn’t give me any plausible explanation as to what was wrong with him. He didn’t want to even try to find out the cause because I didn’t have all the $ the vet was asking for. I offered to make payments (vet in TX allowed me to do that & I paid in full)! This vet said no. I said I would try to borrow $. That’s all this criminal is out for – money. I asked the vet, through my tears, “what was I supposed to do, take my dog home & watch him suffer to death?” The vet just shrugged. I had to take out a predatory loan & could only qualify for $300. He wouldn’t accept that as a down payment, to try to help my dog, until I could get more $. I was devastated to lose my dog. I had such a strong visceral reaction to his death that the entire office went to the back to hide. HAD I KNOWN THIS SO CALLED DOCTOR OF VETERINARY MEDICINE WAS HARMING & KILLING BELOVED PETS I NEVER WOULD HAVE GONE TO HIM. I TOOK MY DOG THERE FOR HELP, INSTEAD ALL I GOT WAS 2 OPTIONS – PUT MY DOG DOWN OR TAKE HIM HOME & WATCH HIM SUFFER TO DEATH! MY DOG WAS 5 & WAS ALWAYS SEEN BY A BET IN TX. I COME TO CALI & MYSTERIOUSLY MY DOG IS SO SICK THAT HE IS CRITICAL, WHEN NOTHING CHANGED IN HIS DIET.
      I’m filing a claim with the state board, I encourage everyone who has had a pet this vet harmed, killed, misdiagnosed & price gouged to do the same! There are standards vets have to abide by & clearly this man doesn’t follow the laws. There are consequences to his negligence & he needs to be accountable.

      • First of all, sorry for your loss. That was a huge tragedy. But if we’re talking about Dr. Sandhu here, our experience was a lot different. He accommodate us when we needed it most, and allowed us the opportunity to pay when it was most convenient for us.

    • Was there anything else wrong with your dog? Have you gone to see another vet about the matter? We’ve had Dr. Sandhu care for our pets and it doesn’t look like you’re talking about the same person.

  14. I’m not surprised. We took our dog to them when she was hit by a car. They kept saying she needed to stay longer but when we visited our dog, she looked drugged not hurt. We took her home and she seemed in better spirits and we questioned whether the hospital was just trying to get more money out of us.

    • Your dog may be under heavy medication because she was injured. Vets prescribe it so dogs won’t feel too much pain as they recover. Did you ask what kind of medication they had your dog on?

  15. Finally!!!! All creatures tortured and killed my pregnant cat and a few of her babies. I brought her in at 8am after she had gone into labor during the night. She was trying to give birth to two babies at one time. I was told to leave her and the 3 babies she had already given birth to. An xray showed she still had 3 left and one was possibly deceased. They gave her a shot to make the contractions strong than put her in a shoe box and put her on a shelf. I was told they would call me when she finished. They had me pay for the service which was fine. At 8pm still no call so I called them, they forgot about her and gave her another shot. My poor cat had been suffering in non stop pain. Two hours later I get a call saying they want $6000.00. For a c-section I raced over and on my way found another vet that would take her in for $1600. So when I got back to all creatures I told them I’m going to get the c-section done right now at another vet. They charged me again for the second shot and to my horror the nurse brings out my soft cat carrier and plopes it at my feet. I pay them and run to my car to open the carrier. My cat is not breathing, so I gave her CPR on the way to the vet. By the time I got there she had her eyes open and was breathing. The vet ran out to my car took her straight to surgery and 15 minutes later I was told she was gone. She was dying when all creatures called wanting to do a $6000 surgery. She had had 2 dead kittens in her and had been given twice as much of the pitocin as she was supposed to have. Meaning my poor cat played there from 8am to 10:30 PM in horrible pain alone. Not one person at all creatures checked her. Here is the kicker, I stopped payment on the second check when I was told that second shot is what killed her. All creatures tried to have me arrested…didnt happen

    • OMG! I’m filing a claim with the state board. I suggest you do the same! This man is all about $. He kills! My dog’s story is above.
      I’m sorry your car, her babies & you were another of his victims!

      • It’s strange how so many people have different experiences with All Creatures. Personally, me and the other pet owners in our apartment complex have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Sandhu.

    • This is very unfortunate. We had an entirely different experience last spring when our cat gave birth. My girlfriend and I insisted on staying until she did and there were no hiccups. It was a bit expensive, but that’s the same price almost everywhere.

  16. I took my dog to canyon country veterinary animal hospital last Feb for a routine spay. Not even two days later the sutures gave way and I had to bring my dog to all creatures because it was a Saturday. They gave us an ultimatum of either giving up my dog or forking over 3k minimum. With a heavy heart we surrendered her but crowd funded some money afterwards and got really close to 3k. Even after all this effort we were denied.

    I hope they close down. I’m still extremely bitter about the situation.

  17. Dr sandu kills and eats goats at his home in acton ca! All his staff knows it’s disgusting as a vet. They wouldn’t give me my records I thrusting to tell had my records in a day from his practice in canyon country ca

  18. Isn’t he also in trouble for all his sexual misconduct and sexual harassment??

  19. I’d never take my pets there next to the theater for any reason even though it is the closest to my house! They’ve always been a bad place to go to! Had an issue there years ago myself and they wanted to take a million tests and run up my bill big time even though it was obvious what my dog’s problem was! I remember I left and told myself I’d never return for any reason again. Not surprised at all seeing all these sad stories here! Hope they close down this time forever! I’d rather see a Starbucks there, even though God knows we have enough of those in SCV! ?

    • The reason for the tests is to know if there are any other problems other than the one you say is obvious. Running tests is the responsible thing to do on their part.

  20. Why is it taking so long to revoke license and close him down?? He is a danger to our animals.

  21. I took My little Maltese to the SCV office and was seen by this vet.My dog came in for an eye irritation or maybe I infection and he told me he needed bloodwork in various tests and that I should come back in a few hours.He then told me to take my dog off of his needed lifetime medication for Cushing’s disease.After receiving a huge bill from this veterinarian and skeptical of his medical advice,I took my dog off of his lifetime medication I need to find out tonight’s later he was Having seizures and throwing up and passed away early the next morning.My family and I were heartbroken and I hope legal action is taken against this man!

    • Were there other instructions? Or did your dog have other complications? We brought our dog and we got similar advice from that vet. But he also told us to observe if there were any changes. If there were, we had to bring our dog to him right away. Our dog stopped eating and we brought him to the clinic. We left him for two days and everything turned out fine.

  22. I stumbled upon this article and I feel like I’m living this nightmare all over again. My world is completely crushed. I took my sweet boy Chico to AV Vet in July after he was attacked by another dog. Unfortunately a person I know recommended them and I had no knowledge of any of this. Had I known this vet would have NEVER put their grimy hands on my baby. Kept him overnight and call me at 4:30am to let me know they are going to begin their procedure. At 5:50 am I got the dreaded call that they lost my sweet boy. Something just didn’t feel right about the entire situation. Now I know I paid this piece of trash $2000 to kill my baby. Our life was turned completely upside down after that day and will not ever be the same.

    • Did they explain to you what happened? Sometimes attacks from other dogs can be lethal. Our dog died too, a year ago. We brought him to AV Vet as well. But as heartbroken as we were, we were sure they did all they could to save him.

  23. Funny how every bad comment is followed up with a reply asking the same questions in nearly every single reply.

    Funny how like clockwork every two months there is a follow-up on the comment, ( a reply) always during office hours, always questioning the complainant while defending the so-called vet.

    I find it interesting EVERY REPLY which defends the Dr. has the same line of questioning & commentary like it must be “an isolated incident”. Well I guess not seeing as if It WAS “an isolated incident” I doubt the Dr. Would already be on probation and would not have several who knows how many complaints who knows how many incidents of this happening as the comments pour in with this posting alone. How many others are there? Dozens? Hundreds? Of course none are “isolated incidents”!

    So yeah I highly doubt it was an isolated incident . In fact, that’s the stupidest, thing I’ve ever heard since it’s obvious this is a career long issue with this vet.

    You don’t start making mistakes however many years later, all of a sudden! Nice try though.
    I suspect The staff working in the office or the Vet himself is posting these replies in an effort to defend the vet. He probably doesn’t even have a real license or doctorate degree.

  24. Oh man. I’m so sorry for everyone who had a bad experience. I only had quite the opposite. Last year my little Yorky had a horrible patella luxation. Three different vets could not fix it. Dr. Sandu who was amazing! That surgery is extremely pricey everywhere. My Yorky always had mild knee problems but this time it just gave out. She was unable to put any weight on it and I wasn’t about to put her down for that. Surgery went well. The third week she started walking her other knee gave out! I took her back to AV vet. He knocked down The price considerably for the second one and gave me free pain meds in the meantime. After about a month she was running around like a puppy as if nothing ever happened. The staff was so wonderful to me at a V hospital. I guess I’m just really lucky that I had such an amazing experience. I am so sorry for everybody that had a bad experience. I ended up using care credit to help pay for the surgeries and I believe it was six months interest free. My dogs are my life so I understand how everyone else that had a bad experience could be so mad. I’m so sorry for everyone who did, but in my experience he was super caring and I’m so grateful for him giving my baby the ability to walk and run again.

  25. He eat horse and dog meat Really bad men

  26. State law prevented the clinic, located within the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, from selling donor blood to another clinic. She later learned that there are only two commercial animal blood donor banks approved to operate in the entire state.

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About Jade Aubuchon

A Santa Clarita native, Jade has spent her whole life involved in community outreach. After graduating from Learning Post High in 2015, she went on to College of the Canyons to pursue a double major in English and Marketing. Jade spent several years as a ballroom dance performer for a local studio and has performed at public and private events throughout Santa Clarita. As KHTS Co-News Director Jade oversees the KHTS news team, which covers all the latest news impacting Santa Clarita. Along with covering and writing her own news stories, Jade can be heard broadcasting the daily local news every weekday morning and afternoon drive-time twice an hour on KHTS 98.1FM and AM-1220. Jade is also instrumental in reporting on-the-scene local emergencies, covering them on-air and via Facebook Live and YouTube. Another dimension to Jade’s on-air skills and writing are her regular political and celebrity interviews, including her bi-monthly interview with our Congressman Mike Garcia and many other local politicians and community leaders.