| Complaint: | Complaint 21-24 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Cameron Folkers |
| Premises: | Canyon Pet Hospital |
| Related: | 21-25 |
The complainant says her dog was brought into the clinic for a dental and a tumor removal (by Folkers). After the surgery she noticed that one of the tumors had not been removed and another spot on the dog's stomach (where no tumors existed) had stitches as if they'd cut something out of there. She says that despite asking five different times nobody can tell her the size or location of the tumors they removed, nor is it found in the dog's records. She says that on a follow-up visit to remove the stitches she was told they had to put staples in because the dog wasn't holding together too good; she claims that when they went back to take out the staples some were left in, and poking around to find those she discovered the large tumor was still in the dog. She says the clinic offered to do a second surgery at no cost (by Miller) but the dog didn't recover well from it; instead we're told that the dog had significant "pain, lumping, swelling and fluid forming" and has the pictures to prove it. We're told there were issues with healing; the wound continued to open and eventually needed a drain. She says she took her dog back every day for bandage changes and were sometimes forgotten about in their car; one day it was so bad she ended up just having to come home. They eventually said the dog needed a third surgery (Folkers) to remove scar tissue that was preventing the second surgery from healing. She agreed but the dog came back with a postsurgical staph infection that was quite serious. The clinic told her that the medication to treat it would be expensive but they were not responsible for any further costs; it was all on her now. She notes issues getting records from Chris Miller, the hospital owner, as well as concerns about Julianne Miller (owner/operator and spouse) and her management of the clinic. She claims that an additional 16 pages magically appeared in her dog's medical records when she continued to press the issue, but that key events and findings were missing from the record. She also tells us that her dog has gotten older as a result of the stress of the frequent procedures.
Folkers tells us that under normal circumstances the complainant would have come into the building to point out the masses to be removed; it appears that they generally have the client help mark each lump with a Sharpie so they know where to cut. The complainant didn't come into the clinic as a result of coronavirus so they took a verbal description over the phone (couldn't they have just sent someone out to her car with a Sharpie?!). He says that upon review of the records he did remove the correct masses, yet Julianne Miller (the vet portion of Canyon Pet Hospital's power couple) to remove the remaining mass. He tells us that the second surgery failed to heal well because of poor aftercare by the complainant; he stayed late to provide a free third surgery to cut out the scar tissue. However, the site still had healing problems and an infection, and at this point he says the complainant was told she was going to have to start paying for it again.
The Investigative Committee had another non-discussion discussion similar to 21-23. In this case they said that after obtaining testimony from the complainant and Folkers they concluded Folkers was cool.
For another tale where veterinarians can't find the mass they're supposed to remove read 21-90.
| Source: | February 2, 2021 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Cameron Folkers | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Absent |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | March 3, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Nikki Frost |
| Seconded By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| 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.