| Complaint: | Complaint 21-87 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Ryan Lunt |
| Premises: | 1st Pet Veterinary Centers Phoenix |
| Related: | 22-28 |
The complainant says she brought her cat to 1st Pet; she said that she had to explain everything in detail three different times to three different employees because they don't read their own records and that this is a common problem. She said the staff member who came to get payment suggested that she didn't take the cat's temperature correctly, hypothesizing that the thermometer was actually in some poop on the butt. She was also told the cat wouldn't be seen for several hours because the other veterinarian on duty had just gotten out of a four-hour emergency surgery. She was told differently by Sanchez, one of the veterinarians there, who later told her the cat was seen on arrival; she asked Sanchez for SOAP notes on the cat but never received them. Sanchez allegedly called her and told her that the cat was stable but pretty sick. An hour later the cat's heart had stopped but they were able to revive the cat; however, she was told that the cat's brain waves were abnormal and the cat couldn't breathe. They apparently suggested the cat threw a clot, had a heart problem, or an abnormal heartbeat. She was transferred to pay the bill for the dead cat and handle cremation arrangements; she was told the cat was started IV fluids on arrival which she says contradicted what Sanchez told her when she was asked permission to start fluids later. She also says that 1st Pet finally did send some medical records but there were xx'es in places where nobody had gotten around to filling them out yet. She also says the records lie about her requesting euthanasia; she says she never requested euthanasia and brought her cat there to be helped.
Lunt writes the response; he states that he never treated the cat and never spoke with the complainant. (He is, however, the responsible veterinarian for the premises.) He says the cat came in and was evaluated by a veterinarian, Otto, who found the cat to be stable. The cat was then evaluated by Sanchez who claims the cat had gotten worse since arrival. The cat then went into cardiopulmonary arrest; CPR was started, and the heart restarted but the cat remained nonresponsive, so the complainant allegedly told them to stop CPR. Sanchez then gave the cat a shot of Beuthanasia (yes, that's a real trade name for one of the many drugs vets use to knock off your pets) to stop the cat's stubbornly-beating heart. He says that aside from a call to Sanchez the complainant had no concerns until this complaint showed up with the Board.
The Investigative Committee said that Lunt was just the responsible veterinarian for 1st Pet as a whole but had nothing to do with this case. (In reality the complaint wasn't filed against Lunt as such; it didn't have a name associated with it. Yet any reasonable person would read it as an indictment of the entire establishment, and hence something that Lunt could be held to account for, but that's not the kind of investigation that these investigators generally do.) They voted to dismiss; Sidaway recused.
| Source: | July 7, 2021 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Ryan Lunt | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Brian Sidaway | Recused |
| Cameron Dow | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | August 8, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Jane Soloman |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| 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.