Ex-Vet Sentenced for Neglect of Animals

A Lake View Terrace man was sentenced Wednesday to 1,000 hours of community service after pleading no contest to animal neglect and practicing veterinary medicine without a license, authorities said.

George Bernard Shaw, 66, was sentenced by Van Nuys Municipal Court Commissioner Mitchell Block after Shaw entered his plea to two counts of animal neglect and one count of unlicensed veterinary practice, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Shaw’s additional three years of probation includes bans on practicing as a veterinarian and treating any animal, said Don Cocek, the deputy city attorney who handled the case.

The charges stemmed from investigations by the city Department of Animal Regulation and the state Board of Veterinary Medicine of Shaw, whose license had been revoked in 1992, Qualls said.

A state investigator took a healthy dog to see Shaw, who said the animal had an enlarged and possibly infected prostate, Qualls said. The city Department of Animal Regulation also became aware of Shaw’s illegal veterinary practice last year during its own investigation into a case of alleged animal abuse at a Sun Valley residence, Qualls said.

In January, Cocek said, a city Department of Sanitation worker expressed concern after picking up several dead animals--seven dogs, three cats, a goat and a sheep--from Shaw’s house between Aug. 30, 1995, and Jan. 26 of this year.

After obtaining a search warrant, animal regulation officers found records indicating that Shaw had treated some animals at the Sun Valley location, including two Doberman pups that had severe mange and had to be euthanized, he said.

Officers later identified other animal owners who said their pets had been treated by Shaw, Cocek said.