Kenneth Wade Jr. is accused of posing a veterinarian in Florida when a woman contacted him to take care of her dog Gucci, who ended up dying. (Mug shot: Leon County Jail; Gucci: Owner Facebook page)
A Florida man is facing charges after he allegedly posed as a veterinarian and promised he’d take care for a sick dog, only for the dog to end up dead.
Kenneth Wade Jr., 33, is facing charges of practicing veterinary medicine without a license and grand theft. According to a probable cause affidavit, a woman took dog, Gucci, to a real veterinarian near Tallahassee in August after she wasn’t eating and was throwing up. The vet told the owner the dog had an obstruction in her stomach and would either have to be passed through a bowel movement or would need surgery. But Gucci was not eating enough to have a bowel movement.
Since the owner could not afford the surgical procedure, a friend gave her Wade’s name as someone who could complete the procedure but for cheaper. Wade allegedly told the owner that he could take care of the procedure. He reportedly said he would charge her $350, and required $175 up front. The owner took Gucci to Wade’s apartment and dropped her off on Aug. 17, the affidavit said.
During the first week of caring for her, Wade allegedly told the owner that the dog had parvo disease but she was “eating and progressing well.” That changed on Aug. 23 when he called Gucci’s owner to say the dog was no longer well and he had to take her to a veterinary clinic where she was on life support, the affidavit stated. A few days later Wade reportedly told her that Gucci had miscarried which the owner found odd because the vet never mentioned anything about the dog being pregnant, according to the affidavit.
The owner showed up to Wade’s apartment on Aug. 27 but Gucci wasn’t there. He claimed the dog was at the veterinary clinic where he worked but he wouldn’t give Gucci’s owner the name of the clinic, cops said. Gucci’s owner contacted the Tallahassee Police Department which began investigating. In the meantime, the owner got a hold of Wade and told him she wanted to pick up the dog from the clinic and take her to a trusted vet. Wade allegedly responded with a short video of Gucci laying motionless on top of a blanket not moving and said the dog had died, according to cops.
Wade also reportedly gave police the runaround about the location of the dog. He allegedly told officers that he worked at Oakwood Animal Hospital but when they checked out the information, the clinic said no one named Kenneth Wade worked there. Detectives also contacted the vet who originally diagnosed Gucci and while he said he couldn’t provide specifics without he owner’s permission, he told officers that it would be “extremely unlikely” that a vaccinated dog would catch parvo. The vet also said he would have alerted the owner if Gucci had a terminal illness, which was apparently not the case.
During a subsequent interview with detectives, Wade allegedly said he provides veterinary care to owners who can’t afford expensive procedures. He advertises his services on his Facebook page titled “PitGod Wade.” He told Gucci’s owner had a 50/50 shot at living, but the owner disputes that account, according to the affidavit. Wade then allegedly told cops he buried Gucci on his family’s property in Gadsden County after the owner took took long to pick him up.
Wade also said that he provides dog owners medicine to treat parvo, per the affidavit.
“I don’t need appointments, I AM THE APPOINTMENT, WRITE AND FILL MY OWN SCRIPTS,” he reportedly wrote on his Facebook page with pictures of the pill bottles.
The medicines are prescription drugs that are supposed to be prescribed by licensed vets. Cops arrested Wade on Thursday and took him to the Leon County Jail where he has since posted a $1,000 bond.
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