A California veterinarian’s license has been revoked after an inspection found an extensive list of more than two dozen violations including “dead newborn puppies” found in open freezer buckets and containers of animal parts. He was also accused of neglecting medical procedures and causing animals to suffer.
One pet owner told The Times that the 15-year-old Chihuahua, Mr. Tillman, has not recovered from his ordeal.
Rodney Ken Hatayama, of South County Veterinary Hospital in Selma, Calif., issued his license on Jan. 31.
X-ray of Mr. Tillman shows a surgical procedure performed by Rodney Ken Hatayama at South County Veterinary Hospital in 2015.
(Eric Garcia)
An Aug. 16, 2022, inspection of the Fresno County facility by Jessica Sieferman, chief executive of the California Veterinary Medical Board, found “unsanitary conditions” throughout the facility, including “poor ventilation, unsanitary storage of dead animals, and unsanitary surgical equipment,” according to the statement. court papers.
The inspector also noted that almost every room in the facility was “crowded, dirty, dusty, unsanitary and smelled of blood or internal organs.”
“The facility’s sinks, water tables and counters were covered in trash, dirty endotracheal tubes, pet hair, scalpel blades, used syringes, grooming supplies, buckets of animal parts, and dirty towels, among other things,” the document says.
A year after Mr. Tillman in 2015, Eric Garcia filed a complaint with the California Veterinary Medical Board.
(Eric Garcia)
In all, 25 cases were documented by the inspector, including several expired medications and illegal drugs and the storage of “several dead newborn puppies in five open white buckets in the refrigerator,” the document said.
Violation extends to food and drink.
According to the inspector, there was a can of Diet 7-Up in the refrigerator that was next to the biologicals (vaccines and Gabapentin liquid). Another can of soda was found in the freezer next to the frozen canine semen.
The board gave Hatayama two opportunities to address the violations in the year following the initial investigation but said he failed to address all of their concerns, resulting in his license being revoked effective January 30.
It is not clear whether Hatayama was still practicing until that day. The Times reached out to the Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the California Veterinary Medical Board, but it did not respond by press time.
Court documents reveal five incidents that occurred between 2015 and 2022 in which Hatayama failed to properly assess, used the wrong dose or failed to administer pain medication altogether following surgical procedures on various animals. In many cases, the documents show, he failed to properly record the medical procedures that took place or the medications he was given.
In the first documented incident, in 2015, Eric Garcia brought a 4-year-old Chihuahua, Mr. Tillman, to see Hatayama. The dog was experiencing joint pain in both of its legs and back. Hatayama performed orthopedic surgery on Mr. Tillman – despite the fact that he was not a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. To perform the procedure, he used his own surgical technique; no peer-reviewed data or studies support its use, the document says. Hatayama did not give the dog pain medication after the surgery.
A month after the operation, Mr. Tillman was still in a lot of pain, his owner said, so he took him to another vet, who took X-rays and said, “[T]something is wrong here.”
“The doctor told me, ‘That’s not how you do this surgery,'” Garcia said in a phone call with The Times. He later found out that Hatayama had drilled holes in his puppy’s bones and tied them together with wire.
According to Garcia, he filed a complaint with the California Veterinary Medical Board a year after the original surgery. Despite pressing the board for updates on his case, he did not receive details of the operation until 2025, when the board filed its first allegations of wrongdoing against Hatayama, in April.
Mr. Tillman X-rays show a surgical procedure performed by Rodney Ken Hatayama at South County Veterinary Hospital, who performed a peer-reviewed operation on a chihuahua in 2015.
(Eric Garcia)
Mr. Tillman has since undergone four surgeries to address the first procedure performed on May 12, 2015 – but it’s not the same anymore.
“He has his good days. On the bad days, it’s work. I have to stay with him all night because he can’t sleep,” said Garcia, holding back tears, adding that Mr.
As a dog owner, he said he felt guilty that Mr. Tillman has had to endure this pain, which is worsened by arthritis. Above all, he is angry and says Hatayama has not shown remorse or spoken to the victims publicly. He also asks how long it took the board to work.
He said he hopes, however, that this case can teach animal lovers to ask more questions when it comes to medical procedures that affect their furry loved ones.
“If you see something [that’s concerning],” he said, “don’t be silent. Talk, or ask the doctor what’s going on.”
