| Complaint: | Complaint 21-157 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Todd Driggers |
| Premises: | Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic |
The complainant says that the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic managed to squeeze her in for an emergency. She relates that the staff, including Driggers, didn't seem particularly friendly but she was willing to do anything to help her rabbit. We're told Driggers came in and vaguely discussed the rabbit's condition and offered only one treatment option; she says she agreed and paid whatever was asked ($1300.40) because she wanted to help her rabbit and was in a distressed state of mind. She left the clinic at around 10:00 that morning and had no updates; she tried calling around 1:00 and only got a voicemail. They called around 2:30 and left a vague message; she relays that she played "phone tag" with the clinic until 6:00 when she was finally able to speak with Driggers. Driggers informed her that her rabbit had died about 20 minutes after she left the clinic but nobody had been able to reach her until then. She relates that she's had serious mental health consequences from the incident and that the clinic didn't really even seem to care about what happened until she left them a poor Google review. She also includes a letter that she wrote explaining the variety of problems with her rabbit and states that she was prevented from having a final goodbye so Driggers could make some extra money.
Driggers says that the rabbit came in stinking and nasty; the rabbit apparently had maggots. He says that the complainant was blaming herself for the rabbit's poor condition, stating that she was crying and screaming and asking if she had killed her rabbit. He claims that he mentioned euthanasia but that it was obvious the complainant wanted to save her rabbit. He discusses their efforts at maggot removal and then relates the rabbit started having some breathing problems; they put the rabbit in oxygen. They subsequently noticed that there was a bunch of icky matter coming out the mouth area; as rabbits cannot vomit (this is actually true!) this was a sign the rabbit's stomach had ripped all to bits. Resuscitation efforts were halted; Driggers states that he told his staff not to contact the complainant as she might be driving and could hurt herself. He says that he was very concerned for the complainant's mental health and that he waited to ensure she was in a safe place before he relayed the news. He says that she had some kind of mental issue and used the f-word. He also said he would have liked to have done a necropsy as he was very curious what else the rabbit had wrong aside from the gastric rupture; he says that the complainant's overfeeding of the rabbit was the root cause of the rabbit's demise and that sugary sweets can attract flies to obese rabbits. He also wonders if the rabbit had an underlying virus that had been going through the local population (he's even had vaccines imported from Spain, which is another story in itself regarding the top-shelf nature of modern American veterinary medicine). He tells us that he takes his job seriously and is also president-elect of the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians to show how much he truly cares. He also says the complainant is seriously mentally ill and needs help from mental health professionals; he says she "has not helped us with her poor coping skills, anger management, and social media bullying" and fears for the safety of his staff. He concludes by stating he wishes he had been able to meet the complainant before so he could have prevented her from neglecting her rabbit.
The Investigative Committee said that the rabbit was doing very poorly when the rabbit came in so the death wasn't really a surprise. (One wonders if the complainant was made aware of this since that was a key portion of her complaint.) They also said that it was acceptable for Driggers to hide the news of the rabbit's death until he felt the time was right to tell the complainant.
| Source: | December 12, 2021 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Todd Driggers | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Gregg Maura | Aye |
| Justin McCormick | Aye |
| Steven Dow | Recused |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | January 1, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | 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.