Couple whose dog suffered 'drawn out death' after visiting vet discover he was ... trends now
An American couple whose beloved Pomeranian dog died after a visit to a vet were later horrified to discover the doctor who treated him is a convicted fraudster.
Jared Manhein and his partner Danielle, US citizens who live in Kensington in West London, had been on a weekend in the Cotswolds when their dog Rory began having breathing difficulties and rushed to the nearest after hours vet.
This was Dragon Vets in Cheltenham where Rory was seen by Matthew Morgan, 48, but to their shock - as their pet had been treated for the condition before - he ended up dying that night.
It was while they were investigating making a complaint to the practice about the death of their much-loved pet - who they had taken around the world on trips - that they uncovered Morgan’s criminal past.
Jared Manhein and his partner Danielle (pictured) were on a weekend trip in the Cotswolds when their dog Rory began having breathing difficulties
Matthew Morgan, 48, (pictured) had been jailed for two years at the Old Bailey for defrauding insurance companies out of £225,000 by inventing pets and giving them non-existent treatments
Rory was seen by the vet, 48, but to the couple's shock - as their pet had been treated for the condition before - he ended up dying that night
He had been jailed for two years at the Old Bailey for defrauding insurance companies out of £225,000 by inventing pets and giving them non-existent treatments. He also had criminal convictions in his native Australia.
Jared, 42, who works in Private Equity, told MailOnline: ‘I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This was the vet to whom we’d entrusted our dog who we loved so much. Now our dog was dead and we were reading that he was a criminal.’
Danielle, 40, a lawyer turned property investor, said: ‘How could this man have been allowed to practise? How were people being asked to put their trust in him?’
Soon after Rory’s death their other dog, Pogo, who was 13 and also a Pomeranian died too - and the couple attribute his death to grief over his ‘brother’.
The couple’s trouble began late last November.
Jared said: ‘It was a tradition for us to go to the Cotswolds with our dogs, Rory and Pogo, and rent a cottage for every American Thanksgiving.
‘We are both US citizens, but based in London - primarily because of our dogs, and how pet-friendly, and what a great way of life they have in London versus New York.
Rory's owners frequently took their beloved dog on trips around the world
They said: ‘We will never get over what happened' after he died following difficulty breathing
‘We were at the cottage when Rory began to experience breathing difficulties in the evening. We weren’t too worried about this because he’d been treated for the condition successfully before by our vet in Kensington. .
‘But we didn’t want to take any chances so I was looking for the nearest vet that was open and came upon this practice Dragon in Cheltenham.
‘It was 45 minutes away and Rory didn’t deteriorate during the drive so we weren’t really concerned. But as soon as we got there it started to go wrong.
‘We told them exactly what the London emergency vet did a month and a half prior, and resulted in immediate responsiveness of our dog, allowing him to breathe again and therefore saving his life. Hours later, he was dead.’
The couple were devastated by the loss of Rory, who was 14 - but tragedy turned to anger as they began looking into the vet with a view to making a formal complaint.
They discovered that Morgan had appeared in court nine years earlier accused of using his expert knowledge to make fraudulent claims against insurance firms saying he owned the
