The College of Veterinarians of Ontario has suspended a St. Catharines veterinarian for professional misconduct after he was caught abusing animals. But a group of former employees of Dr. Mahavir Singh Rekhi — upset with penalties they felt were too lenient — have gone public with their complaints and released videos, which were also viewed by the college, showing him hitting and choking animals in his care. “He told me that if you handle them roughly enough, they will learn their lesson — and they did. They remembered him,” said Larissa Engels, a veterinary technician at Skyway Animal Hospital on Welland Avenue. Engels and other surreptitiously recorded the veterinarian in his clinic. Rekhi was suspended on Aug. 20. Rekhi must also pay the college $10,000, be retrained in the proper way to restrain animals, and will be subject to three unannounced inspections each year for two years. The suspension is for 10 months. St. Catharines Standard
