Nope, not a veterinarian — but he pretended to be one at the pet shop
Here's a rather bizarre story about a pet shop owner in Indiana who was busted for posing as a veterinarian. What makes this bizarre is not just the man's claim, but the way he decided to do some bragging -- which ended up getting him busted.
The guy's pet shop name gives you something of a clue about his downfall: "Reptile Emporium." He styled himself as a "reptile veterinarian, a herpetologist and a reptile specialist." He might have been able to fake his way through the whole matter, except he bragged to undercover agents that he had a 9.5 foot long, 250 pound alligator which he let roam loose in the store at night as his "attack gator."
Of course, when undercover agents heard that, they couldn't help but bust into the store. They found no alligator, but they did find records indicating that the man was a fraud and charged him with practicing veterinary medicine without a license.
If there's any moral to this story for us, I suppose it would be this -- be very skeptical if a pet shop owner tells you he is a veterinarian and don't allow him to treat your pet(s) without proof of his expertise and proper licensing.
But I'm guessing you already knew that, didn't you?
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