Earlier this year, the Post reported that on January 22, Blue Cross Pet Hospital owner Debbie Oliver, D.V.M., was attacked and beaten as she was leaving her home in Marina del Rey. The assailant used a Taser stun gun and punched Oliver in the face. As a result of the brutal attack, Oliver suffered a broken nose, two broken front teeth, a cut on her forehead, and had to have stitches on the inside of her mouth.
Since the article was printed, the Post has received numerous requests from concerned Palisadians for follow-up information. In a phone interview on October 18, Oliver talked about the aftermath of the incident. “No one has ever been arrested for the attack, and the police had no leads. Nothing,” she said with obvious disappointment.
When asked about any lasting effects from the attack, the Blue Cross vet said she still has a pinched nerve in her right arm that makes her forearm get tingly sometimes. “But the real effects are mostly mental,” she added. “Some days I have a really good day where I don’t feel like I have to check all the windows before I go outside, but most days, I have to check them.”
Ever since the attack, Oliver is quick to warn her female colleagues and friends to be careful whenever they go out: “Be more aware wherever you go, and get some pepper spray!” Oliver carries pepper spray at all times now.
Although the traumatic event has left Oliver feeling more wary, it has also had a positive effect. “I can’t tell you how tremendously all the support from the community helped me mentally and emotionally,” Oliver said. “Just knowing that there were so many wonderful people supporting me made such a big difference. It reaffirmed that I’m a good person, and I didn’t deserve what happened to me.”
Some people who experience violence are so traumatized by it that they want to pretend it never happened. Not Oliver. She asked if the Post could provide her a copy of a photo that was taken after the attack, showing her beaten face. She said she wants to keep it as a reminder that she’s a survivor and thinks it will help her feel empowered. “I want to be able to look at that and think, look how far I’ve come.”
Oliver has been caring for all types of animals at the Blue Cross Pet Hospital since buying it from a retiring colleague in 1998. Located on La Cruz, the hospital provides complete pet care, including medicine, surgery, bathing and boarding. It is also offers the services of an acupuncturist and herbalist, and is well known for its cat adoptions.
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