| Complaint: | Complaint 21-69 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Nalani Yamada |
| Premises: | Arizona Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center |
| Related: | 21-70 |
The complainant says that their family picked up their new puppy from the breeder with a clean bill of health and her first round of vaccinations. They had an appointment with the family veterinarian schuled but the day before the day started limping. They rushed the dog to AVECCC's emergency clinic in Peoria. A staff member came out without any protective gear and asked if the dog had her shots; he told them that the clinic was treating a lot of dogs with parvo at the time. They provided updates and said that the dog was happy, doing well, and the staff was enjoying playing with her. They took the dog to the family vet where a small lump was noticed on the right shoulder and given antibiotics. Three days later the dog began to vomit and have diarrhea. They assumed it was a reaction to the medication but the family vet said that the tests came back positive for parvo and giardia. They claim the family vet said parvo symptoms usually show up within three days which was a match for the visit to AVECCC. They rushed their dog to BluePearl Peoria where the dog fought bravely for four more days before she died. The dog was only two months old and the grieving family was left with $4000 in bills. The complainant says that AVECCC was negligent and gave her dog parvo.
Yamada's writeup starts with AVECCC's protocols to prevent the spread of disease. She says taht all patients are brought into a designated room for initial evaluation that's totally cleaned up with a disinfectant between pets. They use the same equipment on each dog that comes in but also clean that up between pets. If a dog seems to be contagious she says the dog is put in isolation. We're also told that there are separation procedures in place to ensure that team members don't work with sick and healthy animals and that the place is getting constantly cleaned. She also says that when she was on her shift she wasn't treating any parvo patients and that the dog had no signs of parvo when brought in. The dog was put into a kennel used for oxygen administration and had a glass door but hadn't been used that day. She says that there had been a subjective increase in parvo dogs coming in lately but that she hadn't seen any that day. She says that she warned the complainant that parvo was going around; she also seems to sow some doubt that the puppy had actually been vaccinated. She tells us that the person that came out with the dog wasn't wearing personal protection gear because he was designated "clean." A parvo puppy did come into the hospital but not until after the soon-to-be-dead dog was discharged. (Some of this is odd. She talks about the guy who came out without personal protective gear, but the complainants were more worried about the one who came out to get the dog and said that the place was treating other dogs with parvo. There also doesn't appear to be any mention of how many parvo dogs, if any, were in the hospital at the same time; we're just told that Yamada didn't come into contact with them.)
The Investigative Committee basically said it's really really hard to determine where the parvo could have come from. They also said Yamada did an acceptable job.
| Source: | June 6, 2021 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Nalani Yamada | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Absent |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | July 7, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Darren Wright |
| Seconded By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| 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 | 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.