There's a bunch of potential violations from the inspection and you can see them
on the complaint for yourself. It appears Western Arizona Humane Society failed an
inspection on multiple points regarding everything from expired tramadol to a dirty
surgical table and drain. Someone named Steven Jenkins wrote the Board back to tell
them it was all taken care of. They did a repeat inspection several months later at
which time they found many of the same violations, including the dirty surgical
table and drain. One of the new violations involves recovering animals not being in
sight or otherwise monitored during recovery.
Litchfield tells us that he writes his response "with great regret and sincere apology."
He says that it's been a big change from being a shelter veterinarian and performing
surgeries on shelter animals to administering care to private animals. He says that he
actually did clean up the mess along with his tech, but that he didn't make sure that
things stayed in good condition for the repeat inspection. He notes that they've hired
additional staff including a CVT and a new lead veterinarian who is helping ensure the
humane society is keeping it cool with respect to legal requirements. In addition to
the various records and controlled substance issues, he says that they're now cleaning
the surgical tables better and that they've improved monitoring of recovering patients.
The Board voted to issue a Decree of Censure against Litchfield regarding the expired
controlled substances and controlled substances logs. The dirty surgical table doesn't
appear to get a mention; maybe it was finally cleaned up.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (18) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (J)(2) expired controlled substances on the premises — buprenorphine 60mLs and phenobarbital 97.2mg.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (18) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (K) (2) controlled substance inventory log does not contain all required information.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (18) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (K) (3) controlled substance dispensing log does not contain all required information.
Penalties:
Decree of censure
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.