| Complaint: | Complaint 20-109 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Klayton Lapa |
| Premises: | BluePearl Avondale |
The complainant says her dog wasn't eating and had bloody diarrhea, so she took her dog to BluePearl Avondale. They waited in the parking lot for 90 minutes and called for updates on the dog's condition. Klayton Lapa spoke with her and recommended a treatment plan. A parvo test came back positive, and the dog was brought out on a "stretcher" that was was basically a cart that the dog was about to fall off. Her daughter, a vet tech, had to grab the dog to keep her from falling off. Once she got the dog home, she recognized the dog's breathing was not right based on her knowledge as a registered nurse; she states that it was Cheyne–Stokes breathing. Whatever it was the dog was dead in 30 minutes. She asks how a veterinarian can send a dog home and have it die in 30 minutes, stating that in human medicine if they sent someone home and they dropped dead so soon they could be looking at a lawsuit. She says that Lapa was too bad at his job to recognize an obviously dying dog and BluePearl only cared about the money they could get from the family. She believes Lapa is actively dangerous to pets and should not be allowed to practice medicine.
Lapa says that there were no obvious signs of a particular disease during his exam. He states that there was no evidence of vomiting or diarrhea while the dog was at BluePearl. He says that he offered to keep the dog hospitalized at BluePearl but the complainant said that she (a nurse) and her daughter (a veterinary technician) could provide fluids at home. He states that the complainant told him she could not afford the $1500 to $2000 for an initial 24-hour stay at BluePearl. He also says that he told her some dogs will do okay at home with supportive therapy but that others won't. (Interestingly the findings of fact state that the complainant says she was never offered hospitalization as an option.)
The Investigative Committee felt that Lapa managed the situation appropriately. They did muse that he should have suggested euthanasia to the complainant.
You may remember Klayton Lapa from 19-88. In that case, he had the complainant chase down her escaped dog at BluePearl Peoria. Once the dog had been found, Lapa tried to sell her $2000 in surgery for a $200 outpatient procedure.
| Source: | October 10, 2020 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Klayton Lapa | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Brian Sidaway | Recused |
| Cameron Dow | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | November 11, 2020 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Nikki Frost |
| Seconded By: | Darren Wright |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Recused |
| 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.