Brian Sidaway was a former veterinary member on the Investigative Committee. He was appointed during the May 15, 2019 veterinary board meeting and reappointed during the June 16, 2021 board meeting. According to his LinkedIn page, Sidaway graduated from Mississippi State University in 1998 and then became Founding Dean of Midwestern University in 2012. He also later founded his own mobile surgical specialty practice, Incise Veterinary Surgery (link), and in March 2022 became CEO of Desert Ark Veterinary Care (link). His bio with Incise Veterinary Surgery also lists academic experience at Mississippi and work at private specialty clinics, one of which was likely a MedVet franchise based on a brief Facebook posting from 2010. He also served as Associate Dean for Clinic Operations and Associate Professor of Surgery and credits himself with being responsible for large portions of Midwestern's veterinary program.
During Sidaway's interview with the Board, he stated that his interest in the Investigative Committee stemmed from his desire to move into the process of governance and oversight of the veterinary profession. He stated that he hoped he could be someone who could be fair to both veterinarians and the public in such a role and wanted to volunteer his time to do so. At the time he was performing mobile surgeries through his mobile practice and felt there would be no scheduling conflicts as a result. Based on his own description, he's "done a little bit of everything" in his career, arguing that such diversity would be beneficial. In addition to being a board-certified surgeon and an expert in animal rehabilitation, he also cites himself as one of the "main players" in launching Midwestern's veterinary program.
The board subsequently picked Sidaway over Nellie Goetz despite a concern by one of the Board members that Sidaway, as a board certified surgeon, might hold other veterinarians to an unrealistically high standard; this concern would prove unfounded as he dismissed the same 80% average as other appointees during his tenure. Indeed, he served on an Investigative Committee that concluded sildenafil has no side effects (19-94, 19-95), voted to dismiss a case where a cat was killed by a misplaced feeding tube (21-104), and also voted to dismiss a complaint where an in-home euthanasia vet with alleged mental problems euthanized a cat, took pictures of the body, reported the owner to the police, and then posted the photos on her Facebook page (21-43), among other highlights in his voting record.
A draft Midwestern University document lists Brian Sidaway as one of the faculty advisors for a proposed branch of the Christian Veterinary Mission along with fellow veterinarians Jana Jones and Carla Gartrell. Jones eventually pursued an alternative career writing books about End Times prophecy on the basis of her understanding of Greek and Hebrew semiotics, while Gartrell was named as a respondent in a five-pack of complaints regarding a dog left in a cage at Midwestern University. The launch of Midwestern University's veterinary program was not without controversy, both in terms of its program and in terms of its impact on the veterinary profession in the state; many of the initial faculty appear to have been sourced from local veterinary practices.
While getting Midwestern off the ground, Sidaway was also part of the same Colorado State University accreditation site visit team as fellow future investigator Christina Tran, then based in Indiana. The same document also mentions that he was a former director for the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association. His ties with Midwestern are shared by biosecurity expert and One Health promoter Donald Noah and adjunct Midwestern faculty member Jarrod Butler.
Sidaway's work with his Incise Veterinary Surgery business appears to have morphed over the years. Originally a mobile surgical practice (in one cached Facebook posting he appeared to be collaborating with former fellow Midwestern faculty member and mobile internal medicine specialist Jason Eberhardt), in 2022 it appeared to take on a more business-consulting flavor (link). It specifically listed business consulting, second opinions, expert witness services, surgical training, coaching, and troubleshooting as some of its many specialties. By 2023 his company's public face had reverted to a more traditional mobile surgery practice, though whether the other lines of business are still open behind the scenes is unknown (link). Sidaway also shows up with KASH Investments LLC and Sidaway Consulting LLC in Arizona Corporation Commission records.
An incident at Desert Ark Veterinary Hospital was the subject of complaint 21-22. In that case a dog was brought to Desert Ark in August 2020 and diagnosed with issues ranging from kidney failure to Cushing's Disease and underwent a surgery for bladder stones. The dog subsequently deteriorated and was brought back for a second surgery performed by Danielle Simons. Simons was advised by Sidaway regarding the surgery, though the extent of the involvement varies based on the account; the complainant claims that Simons said Sidaway would be on the phone with her the whole time. The other Investigative Committee (the one Sidaway wasn't on) found Simons guilty of gross negligence, and some members of the Committee were said to have concerns about both the surgery and the entire hospital. The Board only sent a letter of concern to Simons and does not appear to have launched any further investigation. Sidaway later became the hospital's CEO.
Brian Sidaway voted to dismiss about 79.4% of complaints in our Tails of Woe.
We've tallied up Brian Sidaway's votes during the time covered by our public records requests. Of the cases we have, Brian Sidaway voted in 102 cases. Of those, Brian Sidaway voted in favor of at least one motion containing the word "dismiss" in 81 of them.
Below we've included Brian Sidaway's vote breakdowns for up to ten of the most common motions. We also have a detailed list of votes and their associated complaints available in the Voting History.
| Motion | Aye | Nay | Recused | Absent | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dismiss with no violation | 81 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 94 |
| Find violation | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
Additional archival content for Brian Sidaway is posted below and hosted at the Internet Archive.