| Complaint: | Complaint 22-84 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Katherine Peachey |
| Premises: | Fletcher Heights Animal Hospital |
| Related: | 22-85 |
The complainants state some facts about their case, stating their dog went in for a tooth cleaning and four extractions that took six hours. The dog was discharged and not doing well so they brought the dog back the next day; the dog was becoming pale and had breathing problems. The dog was injected with an opioid and sent home with carprofen. The dog further deterioriated and died on the way to a BluePearl franchise. They believe that Peachey's colleague Mayo (who performed the procedure) was evasive and believe that Peachey should no longer be allowed to practice; they attribute the dog's further decline to the opioid injection and failure to intervene to help the struggling dog.
Peachey's response states that they received authorization to perform the procedure, also noting that the dog had heart issues (AV block) during the procedure that responded to medication; they considered stopping but were able to proceed. She relates that the dog did well and was also in good shape on the recheck; apparently the complainants were most concerned about nasal congestion, which Peachey states is common after dentals. All values were normal so Peachey emphasized pain management and directed them to go to an emergency hospital if needed. The next day the complainants came at the start of business and asked for records, also inquiring why a dental that they were led to believe took 50 minutes took six hours; she explained that the teeth and roots were fragile so it took longer. She says that the complaint was only filed because the complainants blame her injection of painkillers as the cause of the dog's death.
The Investigative Committee, as it often does, generally doesn't consider dogs dying from dentals to be anything to get worked up over. They stated that Peachey examined the dog and did a workup at no charge; nobody knows why an otherwise healthy dog died two days after a dental, but it wasn't Peachey's fault. The Board sent a letter of concern regarding the use of NSAIDs vs opioids in patients like this, but aside from that, nothing happened.
| Source: | June 6, 2022 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Katherine Peachey | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Gregg Maura | Aye |
| Justin McCormick | Absent |
| Steven Dow | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | July 7, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Melissa Thompson |
| Seconded By: | Craig Nausley |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Absent |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | August 8, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Katherine Peachey | Respondent |
| W Reed Campbell | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Melissa Thompson |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Nay |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Nay |
| 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.