| Complaint: | Complaint 20-50 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Patrick Paine |
| Premises: | Casa Grande Animal Hospital |
The complainant's dog was lethargic and dazed so the complainant took his dog to Paine. The dog was also vomiting. Paine performed an exam and asked if poisoning was a possibility. The complainant says that he told him yes. He then says Paine asked what color the poison was; the complainant replied that it was green. Paine allegedly told the complainant that it couldn't be poison because no green vomit meant it had to be a blockage. The complainant says that he later learned the x-ray machine had not been working for several days so they couldn't actually check for a blockage. Paine went ahead and did exploratory surgery. He says that the clinic then called him and told him he needed to get his dog to an emergency clinic because they couldn't stop the bleeding. He arrived and found his dog on a twin size blanket that was being dragged through the facility to his car; he says the staff told him they couldn't find their gurney. He took the dog to AVECC. The dog successfully fought for his life during five days of gruesome hospitalization and a $15000 bill. He points out numerous oversights on Paine's part prior to surgery and states that he has attempted to resolve the issue directly to no avail.
Paine gives us details about the lab work and exam, including the discussion regarding green rat poison and the color of the dog's vomit. He assures us that he never ruled out poisoning but felt it was less likely as a result. He says that x-rays were actually taken (which is quite different from what the complainant was told) and so he suggested exploratory surgery. He says that once in surgery he realized he'd never seen a dog's stomach in this condition and asked other veterinarians to give their opinions as well. He thought that a partial torsion or a foreign body was responsible. He put the dog back together and left. Later he received a call from Fallini, another veterinarian at the clinic, who told him the dog wasn't doing well at all. The dog then needed to be transferred to another facility.
The Investigative Committee said that there was a lot of hindsight and that better diagnostics could have been warranted. They said that the x-rays that were taken were of poor quality which may be why the complainant was never charged for them. They also said that Paine was focused too much on a blockage rather than other possibilities or testing for poisoning. They also said "as time progressed, as what happens with rodenticide, it became clearer that rodenticide was the cause of the dog's issues." They also found no violations.
| Source: | February 2, 2020 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Patrick Paine | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | March 3, 2020 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Nay |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Absent |
| 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.