05/10/2024
This post is Isabella’s Story:🐴💔😇
One I never thought I would need to tell. I haven’t been on social media since losing my beautiful Isabella, tragically last July, 2023. I’ve been trying to digest the reality of what happened to Isabella at Dr. Rullan’s facility; that ended her life. Isabella was my best friend, there’s not been a day I haven’t said “I’m so sorry Isabella." Thank you to everyone who’s supported me since losing Isabella, and to all the people who reached out and I couldn’t respond, due to my unrelenting grief.
Just days before I took Isabella to Dr. Rullan’s facility, I posted a beautiful picture of her on my Facebook time-line. Isabella was healthy, happy and living her best life. Isabella looked fantastic! The farrier did Isabella's feet the day she went to Dr. Rullan’s Clinic, after her feet were done, I took Isabella out to her paddock. Isabella rolled, ate grass and enjoyed the sunshine. I had NO idea this would be the last time Isabella would ever enjoy her life.
Isabella’s truth is below. It’s heartbreaking. There's much more, but this is what I'm comfortable sharing at this time.
Isabella was more than a horse to me – she was my family. She gave me immeasurable joy and purpose. Isabella, as all my animals, received nothing but the very best of care. Isabella was a magnificent creature, she took my breath away daily with her beauty and heart. I loved her completely.
In July 2023, Isabella went to Dr. Alberto Rullan’s Clinic, Performance Equine Veterinary Services, in Ocala, Florida, to receive a second set of Alpha2 injections in her neck. While she was at the clinic, July 1st, 2023, Dr. Rullan took photos and videos of Isabella, (these are the last photos and videos of Isabella able to stand on her own) and posted an image on Facebook, July 4, 2023 as an advertisement for his clinic. Dr. Rullan was very familiar with Isabella as I had been a loyal and repeat client for several years. Dr. Rullan told me that Isabella was looking the best he had ever seen her. When Isabella went to Dr. Rullan’s Clinic last July, I thought I was doing everything I could to help Isabella feel her very best but tragically this was not the case. Instead, Isabella never left Performance Equine Veterinary Services alive.
*When Dr. Rullan went to sedate Isabella for the neck injections, on July 1st, 2023, Dr. Rullan hit an artery instead of a vein which caused Isabella to have a catastrophic fall.* However, when Dr. Rullan told me about Isabella's fall, Dr. Rullan said "He'd had a mishap with Isabella" he assured me that Isabella was fine, apart from a minor injury to her left hock. Dr. Rullan said “This is not the first horse I have done this to, and it won’t be the last.” I said to Dr. Rullan that Isabella had been fine prior to this, Dr. Rullan replied "I know." At the time, I trusted Dr. Rullan, and had no reason to believe that he would lie about Isabella’s condition. I believed Dr. Rullan sincerely cared for Isabella, my belief was incorrect.
After Isabella’s death, based on consultations with other veterinarians, it is now obvious that when Isabella fell from Dr. Rullan’s grave sedation error, she likely broke her back or neck. I now know that Isabella was in intense pain until her death. Despite Dr. Rullan knowing that Isabella was suffering from the fall, he still injected Isabella’s neck a little over 24 hours later. *Within days of the fall, and neck injections perfomed by Dr. Rullan, Isabella was unable to stand on her own any longer and had to be assisted with a sling.* One way or another, Dr. Rullan was going to make money at the expense of Isabella, and distance himself from the incident he created.
Although Isabella was initially scheduled to leave the facility on July 7, 2023, (When I booked the appointment in June) Dr. Rullan said that she needed to stay longer so that he could continue observing her. Clearly she had not recovered from her injuries. Isabella was in a sling. Instead of being honest with me about Isabella’s fall and continuous deterioration, Dr. Rullan assured me multiple times that she was fine. That Isabella would recover. Dr. Rullan told me multiple different scenarios about why Isabella couldn’t stand on her own, at the time, I only wanted Isabella to live and believed Dr. Rullan’s optimistic discussions. However, after Isabella’s death, it became clear, Dr. Rullan made great efforts to conceal that Isabella likely had broken her back or neck when she fell. At the expense of Isabella’s immense pain and suffering, Dr. Rullan tried to keep Isabella alive as long as he could to put distance between her death and the day he attempted to sedate & inject Isabella, her fall, and the neck injections Dr. Rullan finally performed on Isabella.
On July 18, 2023, Dr. Rullan told me I should come to his Clinic as it was clear that Isabella was not going to survive much longer. Unknown to me, Isabella was abandoned by Dr. Rullan and his staff. For hours she repeatedly struggled to stand. A water bucket was left near her head which she continued to bang her head against. Her legs were bloodied from kicking herself over and over again while trying to stand.
Dr. Rullan verbally told me, after 8am on July 18th, 2023, that Isabella had been lowered down in her sling at 4am, Isabella laid on floor of his Clinic, ALONE, actively dying. Dr. Rullan did not communicate with me immediately about Isabella’s condition and left her there, alone. When I arrived, about 8:45am, I found Isabella, down, alone, trembling, her breathing stressed, she was dying and NO ONE WAS WITH HER. A friend with me had to run around Dr Rullan’s Clinic to find him, he was performing a lameness exam in the parking lot. While, Isabella, my best friend, the most magnificent, magical horse I’d ever known was dying on the floor. I have never hurt so deeply inside. Isabella deserved SO MUCH BETTER, this was disgusting. I had no choice but to put my best friend out of her misery. It was the final act of kindness I could give her.
Before Dr. Rullan performed the euthanasia, I told him I wanted a necropsy. Although Isabella was euthanized in the surgery room, in the most ideal location for a necropsy, Dr. Rullan refused to perform a necropsy, saying, “I cant.” In my overwhelming grief, I did not ask why he would refuse. Although I asked to be with Isabella when she took her last breaths, Dr. Rullan made me leave the exam room. My heart was broken. Grief like a sledgehammer.
For over two weeks, Dr. Rullan lied to me about Isabella and let her suffer mentally and physically. I thought that Dr. Rullan loved animals, he's a veterinarian, and would do right by them, especially mine, as Isabella had been a long-term client. I wrote this to firstly honor Isabella who suffered horribly at
the hands of someone I trusted, and Isabella’s story had to be told. Secondly, I want to warn fellow horse owners to be cautious of Dr. Rullan and his facility.
This is Isabella’s story. It’s not the ending I ever anticipated, nor is it one Isabella deserved. But it is Isabella's truth, and it's the right thing to finally tell it. I will love you forever my beautiful Isabella. A piece of my heart broke off when I lost you. 💔
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