| Complaint: | Complaint 22-139 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Jessica Bertrand |
| Premises: | VCA Apache Animal Hospital |
| Related: | 22-140 |
The complainant relates he joined VCA's Pup Care Club for the various perks such as vaccines, exams, and a spay. He scheduled the spay and took two weeks off work to watch the dog. He picked up the dog with anti-inflammatory and pain pills and was told they used dissolvable sutures on the dog.
Two days later the site appeared to be swollen and steadily leaking fluid; the handouts said it was normal so he kept watching even though this didn't happen with his other dog. The next day he noticed one of the sutures had come undone so he sent photos and brought the dog back to VCA. He said that they may have been very rushed but took the dog back to apply some skin adhesive and sent him on his way.
Later that the day wasn't moving much at all, so he looked at the incision agian. It appeared that the incision was a quarter of the way open and had what he described as "stomach tissue" poking out through it. He found the nearest emergency vet which was another VCA facility 80 miles away (VCA Valley in Tucson). He wrapped gauze, tape, and plastic wrap around his dog and hit the road.
He stayed in the parking lot all night as they worked on his dog, sending the dog home with essentially the same take-home kit but used non-dissovable sutures this time. We learn that this adventure cost him $1700 that he didn't have and jeopardized his credit because of the number of credit cards he used to pay the bill. He'd like a repayment of the emergency costs and if possible his Care Club fees; he says there's no reason to pay for the Care Club when it can't actually provide care.
Bertrand's response says that the Care Club doesn't cover medications or emergencies, and the complainant should have known that because he had brought the dog in before. We're also told that the Care Club is only good at that particular location. (Note that the complainant seems to be unhappy specifically about the emergency being caused as a result of using his Care Club and wanting some help with the expenses.) She also says that the procedure went off without hitch and that she never saw the dog after that day. We're referred to other statements that aren't considered part of the public record.
The Investigative Committee said that they appreciated the complainant admitting the dog licked the wound, which could have caused the failure; on the other hand, given the timeline, they also thought a suture reaction might be the cause. They also discussed that the VCA emergency facility found no sutures at all, but they felt that if there were no sutures present, a lot more of the dog's guts would have fallen out. There was also "discussion around the size of the suture used to close the dog's abdomen" and use of a collar, but they had no issues with Betrand's handling of the case. No violations were found.
| Source: | November 11, 2022 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Jessica Bertrand | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Steven Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | December 12, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Melissa Thompson |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| 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 | Absent |
| 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.