Palm Desert Vet Will Not Face Charges by D.A.

The Palm Desert veterinarian, whose dog died after he left it in the car, on a hot summer’s day, will not face any charges, by the Riverside County D.A.’s office. Dr. Douglas Huber, of Desert Veterinary Specialists, in Palm Desert has faced harsh criticism since August 4th, when a Sheriff’s Deputy broke a window in the doctor’s car, to try and rescue his eight-year-old German shepherd, that died on scene.

Michelle Oran of Palm Desert says, “I think it’s disgusting I really do. I’ve got a lot of cats and I really cherish them and it’s terrible that a vet would do something like that. He should be punished.”

But the District Attorney’s office has announced they are not filing charges. John Hall, Senior Public Information Specialist tells us, “That is correct. We did not file any charges based on a lack of sufficient evidence.”

Susy Ring of Palm Desert says, It’s just shocking and how does someone get away with that? This is the guy who sets the example for our way to care for our pets. It’s heartbreaking.”

Oran says, “What example does that show to other people, to let him get away with doing something like that?”

We went to Desert Veterinary Specialists to get reaction from Dr. Huber but were told he was not available for comment. I left my number and e-mail address, requesting a statement and he never responded.

Audrey Storm is the manager of Pet Oasis and her co-worker knows Dr. Huber. She says people don’t know the whole story. Storm says, “What really happened was that he stayed overnight at the hospital with a really sick cat and the next morning he went home to grab his dog and came back and the cat was dying and he went into emergency surgery and unfortunately didn’t think about his dog.”

Dr. Huber was taken in for questioning and detained on a preliminary charge of animal endangerment. He was later released on $2,500.00 bail.

Storm says, “It’s just really an unfortunate event because he lost his animal while he was saving someone else’s.”