| Complaint: | Complaint 20-12 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Robert Thrift |
| Premises: | Bell Animal and Bird Hospital |
The complainants say they needed a vet for his bird in Arizona but had a regular vet in California. They found Thrift online and took their bird there. They state that Thrift was disorganized and unable to complete procedures on their bird without causing a lot of stress on the bird as he was "forgetting" in order to run lab tests. They say that the visit took two hours during which he was asked four separate times about the bird's food. They go on to state that Thrift and his staff almost bullied them into buying a bag of out-of-date bird food. They received no calls regarding the lab work during the following week but says they did get two calls asking what food they fed the bird. They finally got some information a week later followed by what is described as a "rambling, sometimes making no sense" call from Thrift suggesting the bird had a tumor in the cloaca that may require a biopsy. They pressed about the lab tests and were told the bird needed antibiotics that could only be given in the office. They note that one of them is a nurse and could give shots, also asking whether an oral antibiotic would be available instead. Thrift allegedly said that it would be $500 and then went back to talking about a biopsy for the cloaca. They finally went to a different veterinarian where the bird was prescribed oral antibiotics. The complaint concludes by stating that they have very serious concerns about Thrift and his practice. They felt that Thrift was only interested in bringing them back over and over again. There's also concern that a bird could have died in the 11 days that it took to receive the bird's lab results.
Thrift's response tells us that he only saw the bird one time for chronic 30-day diarrhea. He states that the bird had been on a high-fat bird seed diet from California and suggested blood work, cultures, and a different food available at his clinic. He does admit that the bag initially brought to the client was expired but the technician went back and brought a bag that had not expired. He has a somewhat different timeline than the complainants as he claims that he began discussing the lab results only three days after the visit; he portrays the complainants as being ignorant of their bird's health, with one of them not knowing if the bird was suffering from diarrhea or not or still had a cloacal mass. He also says that the medication he thought would be a good fit was not available from his supplier and would need to be special ordered for $200 to $300. He says that contrary to the complanants he did have a treatment plan that included a cloacal biopsy and antibiotics that could be special ordered from Diamondback Drugs.
The Investigative Committee begins by noting that even Thrift's own medical records were very hard for them to read. They also had some concerns with the lack of information on the after hours voicemail for Thrift's clinic, which doesn't appear to be germane at all to the main points of the complaint. They do note the complainants' "frustration" at not getting the results of the lab work back very quickly, and they also state that there was a "difference of expectations of the visit and communication between Complainants and Respondent." Nothing to see here, please move along.
The description of Thrift as an addled or confused veterinarian with a concern for keeping it cheap lines up a lot with 18-63. In that case the investigators found gross negligence on Thrift's part but the Board disagreed and let him off with a medical records violation.
| Source: | November 11, 2019 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Robert Thrift | Respondent |
| W Reed Campbell | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | January 1, 2020 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Christina Bertch-Mumaw | Absent |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Absent |
| 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.