| Complaint: | Complaint 18-24 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Thomas Watson |
| Premises: | Animal Hospital of Laveen |
The complainant was in town visiting family when her dog broke his leg. The complainant took the dog to Watson the next morning and he identified that the break was very severe and painful, needing surgery and pins. They scheduled the surgery, brought the dog in for surgery first thing in the morning, and the dog was dead before lunch. The complainant and her family showed up. Watson showed the family the body and then showed the x-rays showing the completed surgery with the pins inserted in the legs. He told them he had no idea why their dog had died. The complainant asked for records and had other veterinarians and "surgical people" review them, and they suspected the dog died because he was insufficiently monitored.
Watson's response states that there were no abnormalities that would have explained why the dog died. The dog was connected to a SurgiVet for monitoring during the entire procedure. After the dog was moved into recovery a veterinary technician noticed that the dog's heart wasn't beating. Watson quickly confirmed the dog's heart wasn't beating. He ordered the help to reattach the SurgiVet, which also confirmed the dog had no heartbeat. Measures were taken to no avail and the dog died. Watson characterizes the family as "near hysterical, crying and waling [sic], asking what and happened and why he died." Watson said only a necropsy would tell but the complainant didn't want to leave the dog there and took him home. Watson concludes by stating that the complainant's family posted bad things about him online and that his AAHA-accredited facility adheres to the highest standards of care.
The Investigative Committee discussed that sometimes dogs just happen to go into cardiac arrest from anesthesia. They also stated that if the family wanted answers, they needed to have sent the dog off for a necropsy.
| Source: | December 12, 2017 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Thomas Watson | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Donald Noah | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Tamara Murphy | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | February 2, 2018 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Darren Wright |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Christina Bertch-Mumaw | Absent |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Julie Young | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Absent |
| 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.