| Complaint: | Complaint 21-11 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Karen Smolen |
| Premises: | Bark Avenue Animal Hospital |
The complainant tells us that their cat had a maggot infestation in his rectum at two days old. After months of vet visits due to bowel issues he was diagnosed with megacolon; Ainsworth referred her (and her cat) to Smolen, who had just started working at Ainsworth's very own Bark Avenue Animal Hospital. Smolen apparently said she had done the surgery before so the complainant agreed to it. The cat was left for surgery and no updates were provided; the complainant called hours later and found the cat was just now going in. Three hours later she received a call from a veterinarian named Cooper indicating that the cat was not doing very well at all; Cooper allegedly told her how the surgery had gone horribly wrong. It appears that clamps were not applied before cutting into the colon, at which point feces went all inside the cat; they tried to clean out the cat's innards by flusing them out, then stitched the cat back up, but the cat continued to do poorly. Ainsworth's staff attempted to help but the cat needed transferred to VCA ARECA emergency where Sessink was also unable to help the cat. The cat died and Sessink apparently performed a necropsy. The results showed the cat was not correctly sewn back together and feces continued to leak into his body, leading to sepsis and death.
There's no response from Smolen nor any Investigative Committee discussion at all, so we're going to have to from the Findings of Fact. And indeed they're a sight to behold. Allegedly Ainsworth referred the complainant to a surgeon, but the complainant said no; Ainsworth said they didn't do that kind of surgery at his premises but they would be now because Smolen was coming onboard. The medical records indicated that the surgery was not scheduled with Smolen but with Cooper, a new graduate who was not going to be performing the surgery but would only observe; Ainsworth said he had no idea how that could have happened. We're also told that during the surgery Smolen offered to let Cooper assist but Cooper declined. Cooper did allegedly ask Smolen if more clamps should be attached to the cat but Smolen didn't reply; instead she cut into the cat's colon and a bunch of feces fell out into the cat's abdomen and surgical area. We're also told that Smolen was now having a hard time holding the two clamps she had on, so Cooper headed out to get suited up for surgery. Once she got back she assisted by holding the clamps. It appears the surgery continued to do badly; Smolen tried to suture the incision sites but had problems doing so, and there were potentially also knots in the suture line per Cooper. Throughout this effort it appears cat feces was still leaking into the cat. Smolen allegedly said that the cat would need flushed out and then monitored overnight for three days "because that's what the book says"; someone apparently reminded her that nobody had put those charges on the estimate (do veterinarians see everything in terms of money?) and that they didn't have 24-hour monitoring at the hospital. Smolen also allegedly had struggles with a suction device while the cat's innards were washed out with fluids. Cooper went to Ainsworth's office and said the cat was basically fucked, at which point Ainsworth came out and allegedly talked to Smolen; it appears he told her that she wasn't a good fit for the clinic and she was escorted off the premises. It appears that rather than calling the complainant himself, he left it to the junior veterinarian, Cooper, to call and explain all this to the complainant. The cat was taken to VCA ARECA where the unfortunate cat's innards were found to be incredibly nasty and the cat later died. Once the complaint was filed, Smolen allegedly called greatly concerned that the complaint would prevent her from getting a veterinary license in Arizona; Smolen never responded and allegedly absconded to California.
There was no Investigative Committee discussion; it appears it was just Reindeau collecting facts and sending this on to the Board. The Board voted to dismiss because they said they had no authority now that Smolen was in California. It doesn't appear they bothered to open any investigations regarding Bark Avenue Animal Hospital itself despite the literal shitshow that happened there. One also wonders if animal cruelty charges shouldn't have been filed and Smolen extradited, particularly since the veterinary community seems to enjoy levying such accusations on the general public not infrequently judging by other complaints.
Ainsworth, interestingly enough, is actually a former board investigator. That's right, one of the people who used to handle your complaints and theoretically protect us from bad veterinarians is actually the guy who runs the hospital where this tragedy happened. He owns the place, he manages it, he hired the surgeon who did this, and then he let her go ahead and do it. If we believe the facts as summarized by Reindeau, he didn't even know that it was happening until the junior veterinarian told him about it at the end of the surgery. It also reads as though he had time to fire Smolen but not personally call the cat's family, leaving that to the junior veterinarian (Cooper) who had watched Smolen mutilate the cat. There's also the weird detail that the records show the surgery had been scheduled with Cooper rather than Smolen.
This case was featured in an AZCentral article (behind their paywall) in the context of Arizona's universal licensing scheme. It might be a reach to chalk all this up to the state's universal licensing scheme; after all, it appears Smolen was licensed to practice in California, a state likely no better or worse in terms of veterinary regulation. Also recall that this woman was literally hired by someone who used to be part of Arizona's own veterinary regulatory agency and this all went down inside the walls of his own hospital.
And what of Smolen? She still appears to have a current veterinary license in California (valid through 2024) according to a search with the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Her LinkedIn page doesn't seem like it's been updated recently but she has some connection to the Animal Hospital of Walnut (California). There's also a posting from Leave No Paws Behind, Inc., a California-based do-gooder group with an emphasis on sick and old animals; Smolen was apparently appointed the manager of their new clinic in March 2020, shortly before this cat was sliced and diced to death in August 2020. Anybody know if she's working as a relief veterinarian somewhere?
| Source: | November 11, 2020 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Darren Wright |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Recused |
| 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.