| Complaint: | Complaint 22-93 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Taylor Williams |
| Premises: | Humane Society of Mohave County |
Williams writes a response regarding an investigation opened by the Board. It appears that the Humane Society of Mohave County's Animal Medical Center distributed brochures advertising "Vaccine Vet Tech Visit" options, which attracted the attention of the top regulators in the state. (The Board appeared concerned that pets might be getting shots without an exam by a veterinarian, so they started poking around Williams' operation.)
She goes to great pains to explain the various types of exams offered by the clinic as many of their customers are extremely cost-conscious and they're trying to encourage as many pet owners to get their pets to come in as they can. They state that a tech does take a history but at a minimum a veterinarian does perform a brief general physical and vaccines. If the veterinarian finds a problem they recommend a further workup at that time. She notes that pets with overdue vaccines that have recently been seen by a veterinarian can be handled by a vet tech, but the exam and vaccine is still provided by a veterinarian.
She explains that the ad copy was done by an advertising firm that isn't familiar with medical terms. Rather, they were just trying to explain that the appointments under this program weren't for general medical concerns; they were only there for vaccination. She states that since the pandemic began they've had to cancel their vaccine clinics, so many complainants have stopped vaccinating their pets; as a result they've seen an increase in distemper and parvo in the community.
This was an Investigative Division report with no Investigative Committee discussion.
It's worth comparing and contrasting the Board's proactiveness looking into this matter with the All-Day Blood Buffet that is the hundreds of other records on this site. As with many things, it leads to a view that the Board's primary mission is to enforce pedantic legal and administrative standards against random veterinarians while enabling rent-seeking behavior by the veterinary profession.
| Source: | April 4, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Taylor Williams | Respondent |
| 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 | 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.