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dog owner is suing a veterinarian for Rp 1.57 billion (US$105,863), claiming her 2-week-old Siberian Husky had died because of neglect at the hands of the vet.

Nadhila Utama filed a civil lawsuit at the Tangerang District Court in Banten on Aug. 16 against Indhira Kusumawardhani, a veterinarian who owns a clinic in Cinere, South Tangerang.

Nadhila has accused the vet of negligence and is claiming Rp 274 million in material losses as well as Rp 1.3 billion in immaterial losses, according to a document published on the Tangerang District Court’s website. The lawsuit also seeks to freeze the defendant’s movable and immovable assets.

The case started when Nadhila brought one of her seven puppies to Indhira’s clinic on May 28 for treatment because it had been sick. Nadhila was especially concerned because another puppy from the same litter had also fallen ill and had not survived.

After being treated by Indhira and showing no significant progress, the puppy was brought to a different clinic but later died.

Nadhila’s attorney, Hamonangan Syahdan Hutabarat, said his client had filed the lawsuit because of her love of the dog. The puppy was a pure-bred albino Siberian Husky, which is rare, he said as reported by tempo.co.

The Indonesian Veterinary Medical Association (PDHI) has come to Indhira’s defense, saying the vet had checked the puppy according to its symptoms, said PDHI spokesman Cecep Muhammad Wahyuddin. He said Indhira had been unable to go to Nadhila’s home for a second check-up because Indhira had been bed-ridden with the flu herself.

Indhira explained the circumstances to Nadhila through an intermediary named Dewi and apologized for not being able to make the house call, he said.

“In July, the first and second summons [from Nadhila] was sent to Indhira. A week later on Aug. 9 there was a meeting to mediate between the two and Indhira apologized to Nadhila,” Cecep told The Jakarta Post.

He emphasized that Indhira should not be blamed for the dog’s death because it had not been under her care when it died. “To say that Indhira killed the dog is untrue. The pup died while under another veterinarian’s care. Why should Indhira be sued?” he said.

The first court hearing in the case took place on Monday. The panel of judges ordered both parties to come to an agreement through mediation overseen by a court-appointed mediator.

Syahdan, who represented Nadhila, said the case was in the mediation stages following the judges’ recommendation.

“The judges ordered for mediation within 30 days. We are working on that. I don’t want this to get any murkier,” he said.

Siberian Huskies are popular among Indonesian dog lovers. The price and maintenance costs for the breed can vary greatly, said Benny Kwok, head of the Indonesian Siberian Husky Club.

“[For Siberian Huskies] there is no set market price. It is up to the agreement [between seller and buyer],” he said.

At Caesar JacO Pet Kennel and Petshop, the price of a Siberian Husky ranges from Rp 2 million to Rp 10 million.

The suit marks the first dispute between a pet owner and veterinarian. In February, Instagram user @claudianovira suggested that a dog named Chester had died under the care of Vitapet clinic in Pluit, North Jakarta. The clinic denied the accusation.

A similar case was seen in an online petition by Rizkha Elfany, who urged the PDHI to close Alexander Saba clinic in Bandung for allegedly letting her cat die while under its veterinarian’s care.