An Ontario veterinarian who was suspended for misconduct after being seen on video abusing pets in his care has returned to work at a St. Catharines clinic, but he hasn’t received a warm welcome.

Veterinarian Mahavir Singh Rekhi did not speak with reporters as he left Skyway Animal Hospital on Wednesday. The veterinarian exited through a crowd of angry protesters, some of whom had been standing outside the office all day.

Rekhi’s licence to practice was re-instated following his suspension last summer. He pleaded guilty to professional misconduct at a College of Veterinarians of Ontario hearing in July.

Rekhi was suspended after video surfaced, showing pets being choked and mistreated. Four employees filed a complaint about the mistreatment.

The veterinarian was given a $10,000 fine and a 10-month suspension. As part of the ruling, he was also given the option of reducing the suspension to six months if he attended training programs.

Natalie Perrault, who is a former client of the animal hospital, protested outside the clinic Wednesday. Her message for Rekhi was simple: “Just give up your licence because I’m not going anywhere.”

Perrault said: “We bring our animals here trusting these people and just for them to do that. It’s unacceptable.”

Others came to the clinic to support the veterinarian. “He don’t kill any dog, he don’t kill any cat, just he mistreated,” one man told CTV Toronto. “He paid the punishment. Now he should be allowed to do his work.”

But another woman told CTV Toronto that there’s “no forgiving anybody that does that to animals.”

The OSPCA said its still determining whether to lay any animal cruelty charges in this case.

With a report by CTV Toronto’s Scott Lightfoot