| Complaint: | Complaint 22-67 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Christine McCormick |
| Premises: | Copper Ridge Equine |
The complainant relates her horse was taken to Copper Ridge for surgery and subsequently dropped dead. The complainant went to see the horse and pick up their mare (the dead horse's mom), who was scared by the death of the other horse yet left freaked out in the same stall; McCormick related that they do it all the time. A vet tech allegedly apologized for the death and said that she heard kicking noises before the horse died. McCormick recommended doing a necropsy there at her facility but the complainant chose to have it done at Midwestern. She also later called Copper Ridge to state that she wanted the horse to be cremated and returned afterward.
A necropsy report never showed up, so after weeks went by, the complainant called Midwestern and found that the necropsy had been canceled. According to Midwestern, the owner had called to cancel the necropsy; she relates that she's the owner and she never made such a call. The complainant called Copper Ridge and confronted McCormick and McCormick about the situation, and the conversation grew heated. She also called and requested a copy of her horse's records that took eight days to provide.
She later mentions concerns about poor monitoring of the horse, stating that a witness also claims there was no veterinary care available when the horse began to show signs of distress. It's said that the vet tech attempted and failed multiple times to reach Christine McCormick.
McCormick's response gives a rundown of the dead horse's medical history, also defending the quality of care provided at the equine center. She says the horse was given medications and recovered well, so there was no reason to assume he would just die like that; she lives on site so she's always available, and she came right down as soon as the vet tech alerted her to the horse's thrashing. She lists a variety of possible reasons for the horse's demise. According to her, she never offered a necropsy at Copper Ridge; she only recommended that someone do a necropsy. She says that the cancelation of the necropsy is on Midwestern as they record the owner called; she says her staff understood that the complainant only wanted the body disposal canceled, not the full necropsy. Nobody's more frustrated than her that we'll never know why the horse died.
The Investigative Committee said that they believed the complainant didn't call and cancel because Midwestern's policy is to only speak with veterinarians, not owners (so why did Midwestern say the owner called?). They said that it would be nice if the calls at Midwestern were recorded, but they're not; they felt the call likely came from Copper Ridge but that they'll never know where the misunderstanding occured. They also said that both sides could do better regarding "these sensitive matters" but there appeared to be no actual violation they could get McCormick on anyway. They concluded by stating that McCormick should have preserved the video after the foal passed away, but she didn't. (This all sounds normal, does it not?)
In the previous complaint, 22-66, a complainant's horse is taken to the landfill when the hauling service gets confused; the complainant blames McCormick for not having a better system in place to verify where dead bodies are going when they leave her premises. This case also has echoes of 21-12 and 21-13, in which a mother and foal are said to have both died in strange circumstances at the same shop.
Christine McCormick is co-owner-operator of Copper Ridge Equine with Justin McCormick (link). After being investigated by the board, he ended up serving on one of the board's Investigative Committees.
| Source: | May 5, 2022 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Christine McCormick | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Robert Kritsberg | Absent |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Aye |
| Steven Seiler | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | June 6, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Jessica Creager |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Absent |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Violations: | |
| A.R.S. ยง 32-2232 (21) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (L) (7) failure to document in the medical record the bute that was administered to the horse. | |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | June 6, 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 | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Absent |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | July 7, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Nikki Frost |
| Seconded By: | Jim Loughead |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| 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.