Veteranarian Absolved in Camila Killing
by Rod Hughes
A judge in Heredia absolved a young veteranarian for euthanizing a beloved street dog, Camila, in a case that raised the ire of animal lovers throughout the country and within the town. The woman vet, Sujeily Retana, had been charged with the illegal practice of her profession since she had not yet been accepted by the professional veteranarian’s association.
The greatest amount of ire in the January, 2005, case was not directed against Retana, however, but was reserved for the Catholic priest who gave the execution order. Camila was a mostly white hound whom her defenders described as a gentle creature, greeting her human friends as she wandered about the streets of Tibas.
But she made a fatal error by her Sunday habit of curling up in a corner of the local church during services. The priest, Fr. Carlos Artavia, ordered that Camila be carted off to the young vet and executed. For this, the priest was given 30 days or its equivalent in fines in August on the charge of executing an animal of whom he was not the owner.
Luis Alberto Leon, an animal rights advocate who presented himself to the court this week as Camila’s owner, said that he had taken Camila in, fed her and had her spade. But this earned him no accolades from Judge Roy Badilla who proceeded to chastize Leon as “irresponsible” for having let the hapless Camila run loose. Badilla, obviously no bleeding heart when it comes to animals, sternly lectured Leon about the dangers to humans represented by roving dogs.
The judge added that Retana had been accepted by the vet’s association a month after she put Camila to death and obviously knew how to perform a euthanasia. Judge Badilla said he felt the case against Retana was Leon’s reprisal for Camila’s demise.