Dr. Zachary Francisco of Southern Utah Animal Hospital in Cedar City, Utah, faced criticism in September 2026 after Cody and Amy Zylks said their healthy nine-and-a-half-year-old Yorkie, Lilly, was mistakenly euthanized during a veterinary visit in which she was supposed to receive an allergy injection. The Zylks were already grieving the death of their 16-year-old dog Remy and brought Remy’s remains to the same hospital for cremation. Cody Zylks said he confirmed Lilly’s allergy-shot appointment with the front desk before taking her into an examination room.
According to the Zylks’ account reported by FOX 13 and ABC4, Francisco administered an injection and Cody soon noticed Lilly going limp. The family said Francisco then told him that Lilly had been euthanized. They also alleged that Francisco initially offered to buy them another dog and later explained by telephone that the office had mixed up the injections amid confusion involving another animal scheduled for euthanasia. The Zylks said Lilly had been healthy and described the loss as devastating.
In a written statement supplied by the Zylks to news organizations and attributed to Francisco, the veterinarian described the incident as a “major error,” apologized to the family, offered condolences, and promised to ensure that nothing similar happened again. His statement also gave a different account of the moments immediately before the injection, saying he had been told a euthanasia was to be performed, asked Cody whether he was ready to proceed, and interpreted Cody’s response as consent. FOX 13 reported that it contacted Francisco’s office to verify the statement but had not received a response at the time of publication. The available reporting therefore establishes the family’s allegations and the text they attributed to Francisco, while leaving some details of the clinic’s internal error independently unverified.
Written statement attributed to Dr. Zachary Francisco following Lilly Zylks’s death (September 15, 2026):
The owner, Mr. Zylks brought in Lilly Zylks into my office on September 11, 2026, along with another dog to be cremated. My technician approached me and told me there was a euthanasia to be performed. At the time, I was currently in surgery and told my technician I would come up front after I had completed the surgery. After I was done performing the surgery approximately 20 minutes later, I entered the examination room and asked Mr. Zylks if he was ready to proceed or if he would like to have some more time. He stated, “No I think I am ready” at this time my technician took Lilly from him and placed her on the examination table. I stated, “you are welcome to be up here at the table with us as we do this if you would like.” He did not respond. I proceed with the euthanasia. It was only after the euthanasia was completed that he stated we were supposed to only be giving an allergy injection not a euthanasia.
I admit that a major error occurred and would like to express my sincerest apologies to the Zylks family. I will ensure that nothing like this will happen again. We would like to emphasize that our clinic does everything we can for the preservation of life for every animal that is brought into our facility. Again, we would like to express deepest apologies and sincerest condolences that this happened to Miss Lilly Zylks.
