| Complaint: | Complaint 18-03 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | John McWhirter |
| Premises: | Casa Grande Animal Hospital |
The complainant says that she brought her dog to McWhirter for vomiting, drooling, diarrhea, and an inability to walk. She says McWhirter told her it was just a pulled muscle. The dog declined, could no longer walk, started having seizures, and was euthanized. The complainant says that her dog died because of a misdiagnosis; a necropsy found granulomatous meningoencephalitis.
McWhirter says that he never saw the dog and leaves it at that. The official findings of fact state that two other veterinarians, Metcalf and Gamez, saw the dog several times and eventually suspected disc disease and suggested referral. Oddly, the official findings of fact repeatedly state that the dog had constipation rather than diarrhea.
The Investigative Committee found that McWhirter never treated the dog. They leave it at that.
Was the complainant correct that an earlier diagnosis might have saved her dog? Who knows. Granulomatous meningoencephalitis is one of the many diseases that's poorly understood at this time, though there are medical interventions; a cursory search yields a VIN article (Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis (GME) in Dogs and Cats by Wendy Brooks) stating that a protocol used at Cornell University often produced remission in 36 hours and a survival time measured in years. Whether that would have been applicable to this particular dog in the condition it presented in is something we'll never know, and whether a dog would get that kind of care in Arizona is also an open question.
| Source: | September 9, 2017 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| John McWhirter | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Donald Noah | Absent |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Tamara Murphy | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | October 10, 2017 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Christina Bertch-Mumaw | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Julie Young | Absent |
| Les Hatfield | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information will be included here.