| Complaint: | Complaint 18-08 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Carol Richardson |
| Premises: | Bethany Animal Hospital |
The complainants trap a stray cat to make it part of the family. They take her to Richardson for the usual exam, vaccinations, and spaying. Unfortunately, the cat's a bit too wild, so the most Richardson can do is give some vaccines and draw enough blood for an FIV test. The complainants aren't too happy about that so they take the cat to Altered Tails a couple of weeks later; by this time the cat's more adjusted, and there the vet discovers that the cat has ear mites, a heart murmur, and is pregnant. The vet also says that she shouldn't have had the vaccines while pregnant, leading to the complainants being very concerned about the risk of harm to the kittens. The complainants were apparently worried about ear mites and had a suspicion on the first visit that the cat might be pregnant based on her rather bulbous nature. Apparently the cat was also seen by a cardiologist who found no concerns regarding the heart murmur.
Richardson's response says that the cat was too upset to have examined in the clinic. She did say that the brief exam she got in told her the cat was older than a few months based on the teeth. We're told that according to her records, the complainants told her the cat had never even been inside a home; rather, they'd been trying to trap the cat as a stray for some time and finally succeeded.
The Investigative Committee focuses more on the heart murmur not causing a problem for a spay procedure while the complainants were more concerned about the missed ear mites and giving vaccines to a pregnant cat. One's not entirely sure that they really understood the complaint based on the written discussion. The Investigative Committee had some minor concerns about Richardson's recordkeeping, but nothing that would constitute a violation.
| Source: | November 11, 2017 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Carol Richardson | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Alex Casuccio | Aye |
| Christine Butkiewicz | Abstained |
| Ed Hunter | Aye |
| Mary Williams | Aye |
| Ryan Ainsworth | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | December 12, 2017 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Nikki Frost |
| Seconded By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Roll Call: | |
| Christina Bertch-Mumaw | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Absent |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Julie Young | Absent |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | 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.