| Complaint: | Complaint 22-20 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Sara Ford |
| Premises: | BluePearl Scottsdale |
The complainant states that Ford failed to diagnose and treat her dog over a three-week period leading to his unexpected eath. She states the dog began treatment with Whit Church for heart problems and was put on enalapril; the dog didn't do well on the medication and it was discontinued. She took the dog to Ford at BluePearl who found a variety of abnormalities including elevated BUN, SDMA, creatinine, and a low sodium-to-potassium ratio. Ford allegedly said that it was likely some form of GI bleed (related to ulcers) and modified several of the dog's medications accordingly. The complainant states that she specifically asked if her dog was in kidney failure.
The dog continued to decline despite this new treatment plan, and over the course of several days the complainant and her dog had additional interactions with BluePearl. A BluePearl resident, Antoinette Harris, allegedly advised her to continue to give the medication time to work; she also added two more medications to the dog's regimen. The situation still failed to improve and the complainant sent emails repeatedly regarding the matter to both Ford and Harris; an attempt to call Ford instead resulted in another phone conversation with Harris who changed up the regimen further.
On follow-up exam with Ford (at this point the dog's condition had worsened to the point he was listing to one side) she still claimed that a GI bleed was the most likely cause and also found a mass on x-ray. Ford allegedly recommended looking into cancer treatments but the complainant says she declined such an invasive course of action given his rapidly deteriorating health and age. She states that she specifically asked Ford whether her dog was dying, and Ford replied that "No. If he was, I would tell you." At a follow-up visit less than a week later, she took the dog back to Ford as he was even worse; at this point Ford ran more tests and stated that the dog was "in kidney failure and should be euthanized within a few days." The dog was euthanized at home two days later.
Ford's response states that the complainant's main concern was that she focused on the dog's GI bleed and mass rather than focusing on kidney disease. She states that the kidney disease was not that severe on examination until the last visit; she also states that the kidney disease was "not insurmountable" nor her reason for recommending euthanasia for the dog. She provides a brief history of the dog's medical records, stating that he first arrived on the recommendation of the family vet for elevated liver disease; the dog was also under the care of Church for stage B2 heart valve disease. She states that at this time there were mild kidney changes consistent with mild chronic disease or agin and that she recommended a 30-day course of treatment focused on the GI and liver issues. She also states that this visit occurred 17 months prior to the final sequence of events and that she never returned for a recheck.
Per Ford, the next time the complainant showed up was 17 months later when the dog began experiencing possible kidney problems related to enalapril. Church had placed the dog on enalapril to assist with the heart problems but led to increased kidney values; Church referred the dog to her (interestingly Church is now referred to as "our cardiologist" suggesting employment with BluePearl). Ford mentions the dog's other symptoms including weight loss and tarry stool, stating that the complainant refused a rectal exam to determine whether digested blood was present in the stool. She also states that the kidney function tests showed an improvement since Church ran the most recent set of tests; based on the overall information she believed that a GI bleed or inflammatory bowel disease were most likely. She made changes to the dog's medication regime and recommended a diet change.
Ford states that "we" had continued discussions with the complainant over the next days, noting that they do not provide email addresses because they don't check them more than every 24 to 48 hours. She claims that on the next recheck the dog was actually doing somewhat better and had gained some weight, yet in this exam a large mass was identified on the dog; other lab results were less promising. She recommended further workup on the mass (which she suspected was also a key contributor to the dog's problems) and was turned down, so she stated she had a "lengthy quality of life and end of life discussion," including a helpful take-home worksheet on the subject. She also notes the final exam before the dog's death, stating that it was likely the dog was experiencing acute kidney injury as a side-effect of the mass preventing the dog from eating and drinking normally. She states that the dog could have potentially been stabilized at BluePearl, but as the complainant didn't want to do anything with the mass, it was likely a pointless endeavour. She notes that the story is very sad but that the complainant was unfortunately fixated on the kidney disease alone. She also states that she dedicated her life to treating complex cases like this and had no intention of increasing the dog's suffering.
The Investigative Committee discussion touches on at least part of the discrepancy between the complainant and respondent's accounts, but just barely. They begin by stating that the dog was old, sick, and had a lot of problems, so it's difficult to manage the case or pinpoint a specific cause. They did state that Ford requested a stool sample but the complainant said she never got the request, and in any event a second request was never noted; they also mention some concern regarding Ford's own fixation on a GI bleed or similar issue. It also appears that a telemedicine report suggested the possibility of additional kidney changes but Ford may not have taken that as seriously as she could have: "some members did not think Respondent's diagnosis was completely wrong, she was amiss for not at least considering other types of treatment for the possibility of renal disease." The Committee also suggested that with all the problems piling on, there wasn't much Ford could have really done, and the complainant also bears responsibility for refusing so many of the offered tests. They voted to dismiss, Kritsberg opposed.
| Source: | February 2, 2022 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Sara Ford | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Robert Kritsberg | Nay |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Steven Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | March 3, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Absent |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | April 4, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Sara Ford | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Darren Wright |
| Seconded By: | Craig Nausley |
| 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 | 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.