NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — A breeder from Columbus has sued a North Ridgeville animal clinic over a breeding mix-up that almost killed her champion show dog.

Barbara Lea Jacobs charges that her purebred Pembroke Welsh corgi was inseminated with semen from both a corgi and from a Great Pyrenees, which is five times the size of a corgi, because the semen was negligently mixed by veterinarian Dr. Robert Hutchison and Animal Clinic Northview.

"It was like breeding an elephant to a gazelle. She almost died. They destroyed the value of this bitch," said attorney David Jay Hyman, who is representing Jacobs and is also a breeder of show dogs.

The suit, filed in Delaware County, was transferred to Lorain County Common Pleas Court last week on a motion by Hutchison's attorney Todd Haemmerle.

Haemmerle said he could not comment on the case. Hutchison, who was also named individually in the suit, did not return phone calls.

Hyman said the corgi, known as Gwynne, was inseminated in 2007 with semen from a 30-pound corgi that was contaminated with semen from a 150-pound Great Pyrenees.

Gwynne conceived a litter that included two purebred corgis, six "abnormally large" Pyr-Corgi puppies and a puppy that died shortly after birth, according to the suit. Gwynne grew so large during the pregnancy that she was unable to eat normally or walk, and the puppies had to be delivered by cesarean section.

"She continued to bleed for three months, and was unable to care for her puppies," Hyman said. "She ultimately had to be spayed" -- destroying her reproductive and economic value to Jacobs, and ending her show career because spayed or neutered dogs cannot compete in American Kennel Club shows.

Gwynne had one litter of puppies previously, and would have been bred again several times, Hyman said. Purebred Pembroke Welsh corgi puppies are valued at $2,000 to $3,500, he said.

Hutchison, who is recognized by breeders internationally as an authority on small animal fertility and reproduction, produces approximately 150 frozen semen litters yearly, according to the Web site for Animal Clinic Northview.

The suit alleges four counts of negligence, fraud and breach of warranty, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages of $800,000 per count. Three other veterinarians who are shareholders in the clinic -- Brian Greenfield, Randall Hutchison and Matthew Wilson -- were also named in the suit.