Heartbroken pet owners have criticised the television show-famous vet facility for mistaking “Tara” for “Lara” and sending their cat to the wrong home before she escaped.
While on vacation in the UK, Tara’s owners Katie Matthews and her partner Bernardo are distraught to learn that their beloved pet has vanished.
Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital in Sydney’s east, where Bondi Vet was filmed, on Sunday night presented tortoiseshell Tara to a family who had a cat named Lara who had a similar appearance.
However, she was given to Lara’s family’s grandmother, who didn’t realise it was the right cat and let her out into the backyard when she arrived home.
Tara ran off right away, and she hasn’t been seen since.
Now, Tara’s enraged owners claim that they feel misled by the veterinary clinic from which they first adopted Tara as a rescue kitten four and a half years ago.
They’re clamouring for explanations and placing all the responsibility on the animal clinic where the long-running Bondi Vet series was shot before it recently changed bases.
“We were just so perplexed… To be honest, it didn’t even feel real,” Ms. Matthews said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
When we travel on vacation, Tara always boards with BJVH, and we felt confident in them because they know her well.
There, she receives all of her checkups and injections.
She recently received her flu shot, and one of the veterinarians reassured us that Tara won’t have any trouble boarding there because the staff there knows and adores her.
At the end of the day, they were the only ones in charge of Tara, and they let both Tara and us down.
“Just think if they believed Tara was supposed to be a Lara ready for euthanasia or a big operation… it’s just not okay,” the speaker said.
Ms. Matthews wants the other cat owner’s relative to know that they are not to fault for the incident because they allowed Tara to go outside.
“It’s absurd… Even if she was aware that it wasn’t her cat, how on earth can it be her fault,’ she said.
“Tara would have been distraught, and she might have opened the box to make her feel better and calm her down… Sadly, Tara became frightened and fled out of an open door.
The distraught couple published hundreds of images and referred to Tara as the “light of their lives” in an effort to find their lost pet.
They hope to see Tara when they get back home, but they haven’t completely discounted the possibility that their greatest fears will come true.
In all honesty… Just, I don’t know… We are hopeful but also utterly depressed,’ Ms. Matthews added.
“We committed to Tara’s care and safety when we rescued her, and we will continue to commit to Tara no matter how long it takes.”
She is such a kind, kind spirit. We are overcome with emotion. She is a garden girl, not a street cat, and she has no idea how to survive on her own.
Ms. Matthews has urged the veterinary clinic to step up its search for Tara, claiming that they have heard from locals that there aren’t many cat traps in the neighbourhood.
She has also been informed that the majority of the facility’s reward posters have been damaged by the rain.
I want them to act on what they say and do what is necessary to find Tara,’ Ms. Matthews added.
Accept their mistakes and help them to make them right.
Although they undoubtedly have the right intentions, they are not making enough progress.
We are tolerant and forgiving, but at the very least, come to an agreement.
The pair, who also have a two-year-old greyhound, expressed their reluctance to ever again entrust any of their animals to the veterinary clinic.
Ms. Matthews thanked her hometown for coming together and assisting with the hunt while she was away after making a frantic appeal on many Facebook pages.
The local community, she said, “has really been pouring out their love right now and putting in a lot of their time and effort to help us locate Tara.”
“The outpouring of love and support has been very beneficial to both of us during this incredibly upsetting time,” said the recipient.
“We want to emphasise how crucial this has been thus far and how crucial it is to keep going out there and taking the time to share and comment on posts in order to get Tara back home and safe,” the statement reads.
Without receiving a response, Daily Mail Australia has contacted Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital numerous times for comment.
On Monday night, Ms. Matthews conveyed the alarming message she had gotten from the clinic earlier that day, informing them of the incident’s cause and prompting them to begin looking for Tara.
I’m sorry to have to message you in this manner, but (Tara and Lara) were both tortoiseshell cats, and the grandma who took her up didn’t know what kind of cat she was, the vet wrote.
The neighbour entered the house after Tara was taken there and said it wasn’t their cat. Free of the blue, they suddenly let Tara out.
The contrite veterinarian emphasised that they were doing everything they could to locate Tara and that staff will immediately receive training to prevent future gaffes of a similar nature.
She wrote, “I can’t believe it has happened and personnel will be properly taught.”
“I cannot express my sincere regret enough, and please know that we are all deeply sorry.” We are making every effort.
When the programme first became a major primetime success back in 2008, Bondi Vet was a long-running television series that followed the lives of Dr. Chris Brown and other veterinarians at Bondi Junction Veterinary Hospital.
According to the veterinary hospital’s website, Dr. Brown later rose to fame as a television personality and is now a part of the staff there.
The show is being taped at a different animal hospital in the area.
The veterinary clinic started their own public appeal on Tuesday morning after the online petition immediately gained popularity.
The clinic reported that “on Sunday, a staff member presented the erroneous animal to the mother of the owner of another tortoiseshell cat.”
She didn’t recognise the cat because she didn’t know it was her daughter’s, so she took her home.
Little Tara then fled into the backyard and leaped the fence after a neighbour from Castlefield St. Bondi stopped by and said it wasn’t the right cat.
‘We are actively hunting for her, and we have signs and cat traps out there. We need everyone’s assistance.
Because we adore and live for the animals under our care, the team members involved are devastated by the human error.
We ask that you contact us if you spot her.
Locals responded to the call with a deluge of encouraging remarks, all of whom acknowledged that it was a trying circumstance for everyone involved.
“I just hope she’s found as soon as possible.” If that was my cat, I’d feel violently ill. She is a lovely young lady. beautiful, return home.
She’d be terrified to death! One resident wrote.
Another person commented, “I hope she’s found soon.”
For everyone involved, that is a difficult scenario. Huge hugs to the team and the owner.
The incident infuriated the locals.
“How was this let to occur? Due to their distress, the owners have spent the last 24 hours posting on local Facebook groups while they are away.
This should never have happened in the first place. One person observed, “Veterinary practitioners have a strong duty of care, and this was clearly broken here.
Tara was last spotted near Bondi’s Castlefield Street.
She has a collar with the name Tara in diamonds and is described as being grey with a ginger splotch on her face.
The words “my name is Tara” are inscribed on a spherical silver tag attached to the collar. I ought to be at home. Call Dad, please.
Residents are asked to search their garages and sheds in case Tara took refuge there from the storm.