Vallejo veterinarian leaving town after assault and police non-response

VALLEJO — A local veterinarian was assaulted in a chance meeting with a disgruntled client, but said when she called 911 for help the dispatch operator hung up on her, and Vallejo police shrugged off her complaint.

Following the assault, Sonia Amador said she is closing her business and moving out of town. “It sucks because we have so many clients that we love, but I don't feel safe here,” she said. “Vallejo has kicked my ass for the last time.”

Amador owns and operates Amador Mobile Veterinary, and has been making house calls in the Vallejo area since 2020. She alleges that a former client who blamed her for the death of her cat beat her up outside a nail salon. When she called for help, a dispatcher hung up on her, and when she went to the police station, an officer refused to make an arrest, telling her that there were only two officers on shift.

It’s the latest example of how short-staffing has been blamed for an anemic response by Vallejo police officers. Some local business owners say they have taken security in their own hands because of the lack of response. Interim Police Chief Jason Ta said at a recent City Council meeting that the department has 46 officer vacancies and inadequate emergency response and is considering asking the Solano County Sheriff’s Office to help shore up the department. Dispatchers too are short staffed and a year ago the dispatchers’ union warned the level was “critical.”

Amador said she first encountered the woman who assaulted her – who was identified in court filings as Vallejo-based therapist Sierra Voss – when she and her partner and business manager, John Vilotti, made a house call in the summer of 2022. Voss’s dog had been attacked, and she couldn’t take it to the ER, so Amador said she sedated the dog and stitched its wounds, saving Voss thousands of dollars.

Amador said she also diagnosed the client’s cat with hyperthyroidism and a heart condition, and recommended that she take the cat to an emergency clinic, but as far as she knows the woman never took that advice. Amador said she last heard from the woman in September before a chance encounter this month.

On June 3 Amador went to get her nails done and found herself sitting next to Voss, who yelled at her, “You're the reason my cat died,” Amador recalled to the Sun.

Amador got up and told Voss, “You should have taken her to the ER like I told you to” and left the salon. Amador said Voss then followed her out, punched her in the face, knocked her against the hood of a car, kicked her, and tried to tear off her dress.

“I didn't even have a chance,” Amador said. “She just beat me up.”

Diana Kreutzer from a neighboring business witnessed part of the altercation. “Sonia was trying to get away from that woman, like trying to get into her car. That woman kept following her,” Kreutzer said.

Regaining her footing, Amador said she maced Voss, but the wind blew some of the mace back in her face. Amador said she was then faced by a group of men who cheered her assailant on saying, “Yeah, fuck her up!”

Kreutzer said it was obvious that Amador was the one being attacked, as she wasn’t hitting back but only trying to ward off her assailant.

“The bystanders were all against Sonia and were siding with the aggressor. It was really bizarre because I guess they didn't see everything.” Kreutzer said. “I felt really bad for Sonia.”

Amador said one of the bystanders offered Voss mace. “They just really enjoyed watching me get beat up, and I was screaming at him, ‘Don't do that. Please help me.’ And he just didn't give a damn,” Amador said. “It's like they all were enjoying watching me get victimized.”

Amador called 911. The operator asked for a description of the assailant. “She’s white, blonde hair, and fat,” Amador said. “And she goes, ‘Oh, no, you didn't, you're not gonna talk like that,’ and she hung up on me.” Amador said she called back another six times with the same result.

“I could have been murdered in that parking lot, and she just kept hanging up,” Amador said.

“I'm surprised that the cops didn't come, because it was a much bigger deal than what we usually see,” Kreutzer said. “I thought it was pretty out of hand.”

Amador went to the police station and asked that Voss be arrested. She said a visibly pregnant woman was also there attempting to report a crime “She's crying and crying. She said she got assaulted, kicked in her belly,” Amador said.

Amador said she saw a Vallejo police officer tell the women there was nothing he could do. “He said ‘Just go online and file a complaint. There's only two officers on shift for the entire town of Vallejo this Saturday. It's just a misdemeanor anyway,’” Amador said.

The officer photographed Amador’s injuries and gave her a case number. “He said if the DA wants to do something about it, then you might show up to court,” Amador said. She told him, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I want this woman arrested. She assaulted me.”

Amador said the pregnant woman asked the officer to jump start her car so she could drive to the hospital, but he refused. “He's like, ‘nope,’ and shut the door,” Amador said. “So even though I just got beat up, I’m bleeding from my nose, I hurt all over, I had to go help jump start the car of this poor pregnant lady.”

“He didn't give a damn,” Amador said. “What made it even worse is he had this weird smirk on his face the whole time. He needs to get a check on that smile.”

Amador was shocked when a sheriff’s deputy presented her with a restraining order from Voss last Friday morning. In the document, Voss wrote that Amador “would not stop speaking to me” which “escalated into mutual physical contact.” But video of the incident reviewed by the Sun shows Amador left the salon and that the woman chased her out and attacked her.

Mario Saucedo said Amador will be sorely missed in the Vallejo community. “That’s ridiculous that we're going to lose some really good assets for our community over this stupid mistake,” he said.

Saucedo, director of the Solano AIDS Coalition  said Amador has greatly helped many of the pets of his friends and Solano AIDS Coalition volunteers, many of whom are low income.

“All my neighbors love her,” Saucedo said. “This lady comes to alleviate the pain of a lot of people that are suffering because they cannot afford the high rate of doctors that we have in Vallejo, in Solano County.”

He said he has seen her picking up stray cats, getting them fixed and finding homes for them.

“I want to know who is going to take care of all these kitties now? Thanks to Dr. Amador, we started getting a lot of the street cats out of the streets,” Saucedo said. “So now what is going to happen? We ‘re going to have another invasion of kitties all over the town again.”