| Complaint: | Complaint 22-96 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Kelly Harrigan |
| Premises: | Trilogy Veterinary Medical Center |
The complainant says that she lost her dog due to negligent care and faulty testing at Trilogy. She says he dog woke up very ill with vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and lethargy. She made an emergency appointment there where she was informed the dog would need to be tested for parvo; the dog was supposed to have been tested with oral and rectal swab, the latter of which wasn't performed or relayed to her. Harrigan gave the complainant a treatment plan which the complainant agreed to, paying her bill in full when she returned several hours later. She was told that there was nothing out of the ordinary but there was possible inflammation on one of his organs. She was given drugs for the vomiting and diarrhea.
After coming home the dog became even worse; he eventually couldn't stand up and became unresponsive. She relayed her concerns to Trilogy and was told the dog just needed time to get better, dismissing her concerns. She asked about the results on the fecal testing because Harrigan didn't mention them and was told they didn't run one. She didn't know this and dropped off a fecal sample for them. Unfortunately, the dog was doing so badly she took the dog to "Care 1st" emergency (likely 1st Pet) where Schacher told her that her dog was likely dying of parvo; apparently, unlike many critical 1st Pet patients who are euthanized, this one coded and died while the parvo test was being run.
Harrigan's response states that per hospital protocol, a parvo SNAP test was run and came back negative, particularly has the dog wasn't up to date with vaccines. She came up with a treatment plan but learned the complainant turned down most of it; she eventually coaxed the complainant to agree to a subset. She sent the dog home with medications for a presumptive diagnosis of gastroenteritis with possible pancreatitis. She later learned that the dog had died and an internal review of records discovered that a fecal sample had never been tested; they've updated their procedure to only perform fecal tests now to simplify the process and avoid oversights. Regarding the fecal float test, she relates that since they're always sent out, she wouldn't have had the results to help the dog anyway.
Harrigan ends by largely saying the dog's death was the complainant's fault, stating the dog wasn't fully vaccinated, the complainant turned down her treatment and testing suggestions, waited to bring the dog in, and apparently waited quite a while before taking the dog to an emergency clinic. (In fairness, the Findings of Fact state that the dog had been vomiting and not eating for three days, which many clinics might write off as an upset tummy; when the complainant called back when the dog wasn't doing well, she was apparently told to stay the course per her account, but the Findings of Fact say she was advised to go to emergency. She did, however, get a full refund!)
The Investigative Committee blames it all on a testing error, stating that Harrigan was just relying on bad information; there were also radiology reports suggesting pancreatic inflammation, so it was reasonable for Harrigan to pursue that instead. They also mention medication omissions in the medical record but say it's no big deal.
| Source: | July 7, 2022 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Kelly Harrigan | Respondent |
| W Reed Campbell | Respondent Attorney |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Aye |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Gregg Maura | Aye |
| Justin McCormick | Absent |
| Steven Dow | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | March 3, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | J Greg Byrne |
| 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: | August 8, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| W Reed Campbell | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | J Greg Byrne |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| 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: | |
| W Reed Campbell | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | J Greg Byrne |
| Seconded By: | Jane Soloman |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Nay |
| 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.