| Complaint: | Complaint 21-62 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Adam Shure |
| Premises: | Lookout Mountain Veterinary Clinic |
The complainant took her cat to Shure for a sore jaw. The cat was diagnosed with cancer and euthanized. She requested a paw print as part of the euthanasia. She picked up the paw print and noticed that the paw print was far too small to match the cat, a Maine Coon with huge paw pads. She compared the paw print to another paw print received from Lookout Mountain and noticed they were almost identical even though the other cat had been significantly smaller. She then compared to other pawprints and concluded that it appeared the Lookout Mountain paw prints were fake. She states she contacted Lookout Mountain and received no response from Shure or from Jeff Cook, the veterinary owner. She says she has pictures.
Shure starts with the euthanasia but doesn't appear to mention cancer. He states that the complainant requested a paw print and came to pick it up. He states that there's a note in the record that she felt the paw print was just a staff, but he claims that neither he nor the office manager were ever informed about this. Shure says that the confusion comes from the fact that the "matching" pawprints were done professionaly through Lasting Paws, a crematory service. He also says the cats were almost identical in weight so the paws would be almost the same. They used to create their own in-house paw prints but no longer do because of costs and time involved.
There's no Investigative Committee discussion and the Board found no violations. We're left to believe that the complainant can't tell how big her cats (or their paws) really are.
Concerns about post-death victimization of pets by the veterinary community's clean-up crew aren't entirely novel; you can read up on some general crematory antics in other veterinary complaints. In 19-30 a clerical error results in the disposal of a pet's ashes, while in 21-20 and 21-131 a dead dog and a dead cat get swapped on the way to the furnaces.
| Source: | February 2, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Adam Schure | Respondent |
| Proposed By: | Nikki Frost |
| Seconded By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| 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.