Powered by Bravenet Bravenet Blog

iphone fun

journal photo

Subscribe to Journal

Monday, August 30th 2010

12:52 PM

Not all Vets are bad~~ a recent nice personal story~~from us!

  • Mood:

 Kudos to the nice DVM that met us as an emergency for our old gal Zoey with "old dog vestibular syndrome".

Another scary experience to add to our long, long list.

Unlike our old Dottie, who circled but never really lost balance or her remaining "good eye" did not quiver or go "side to side", our dear Zoey has head tilt, lost balance, with both eyes in constant motion.

UUUggghhh! Has not lost any appetite and drinks her water though!

So far my motto holds up~~ when they give up "lunch" and refuse food, one is in deep doodoo.

View Entry

Saturday, August 28th 2010

5:52 PM

Penn. Veterinarian couldn't beat animal cruelty conviction~~

  • Mood:
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Aug 27, 2010 21:37 EST
Lancaster


...

"He acted unreasonably, and was utterly indifferent" to the dog's pain or the risk of infection, Lancaster County Judge Howard F. Knisely said, in making his ruling.

Dr. Tom Stevenson, of Twin Valley Veterinary Clinic in Honey Brook, had testified he merely was offering first aid to the dog, which he said did not react when he used a pair of sewing scissors to cut a small piece of skin that anchored the dog's dangling tail.


..."

In December, District Judge Stuart Mylin found Stevenson guilty of one summary count of cruelty to animals and fined him $750. Friday's hearing was an appeal of that decision.

The state Board of Veterinary Medicine had temporarily suspended Stevenson's license but later restored it. It has not made a final decision about his license.



 To the court system and Hon. Judges Knisely & Mylin
 
The usual evasiveness of the Veterinary Board



View Entry

Thursday, August 26th 2010

4:36 PM

NH Pet-Owners beware~~~ pet might be held as HOSTAGE: see below

  • Mood:

State of New Hampshire Board of Veterinary Medicine Public Minutes July 20, 2010

http://www.nh.gov/veterinary/documents/07_30_10_min.pdf

10. A veterinarian asked if it is legal to hold a pet in lieu of payment of medical bills. The Board's attorney will research as to whether laws allow it.


What? Did you ever hear of Small Claims Court? A mechanics lien on property?

 

No~~ hurt the animal and the Owner, right???

View Entry

Thursday, August 26th 2010

3:49 PM

Another compassionate VET~~~COMING TO A STATE NEAR YOU!

 

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla - Rain couldn't silence the cries of some who say what vets at Lehigh Acres Animal Hospital did was heartless. Protesters gathered outside the animal hospital a day after two dogs were put down because its owners couldn't pay a $2,000 boarding bill.

Deputies escorted workers to their cars Friday afternoon.

The animal hospital insists they did nothing wrong. They provided us with copies that show the hospital mailed several letters to the dog's family warning they would give up ownership of the dogs if the bill was not paid.



Read more: http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2010-08-20/Angry-protesters-camp-outside-Lehigh-animal-hospital#ixzz0xk3FZxYI
View Entry

Sunday, August 22nd 2010

12:10 PM

Good moral character in NH for obtaining licenses~~?

  • Mood:

New.  #9464-B, eff 4-23-09

 

          Vet 302.02  Good Professional Character.  Good professional character shall include but not be limited to:

 

          (a)  Traits including honesty, trustworthiness, diligence and reliability that are relevant to and have a rational connection with the applicant’s present fitness to practice veterinary medicine;

 

          (b)  No conviction of any felony crime involving animal abuse;

 

          (c)  No conviction of any crime within the last 10 years which would materially and substantially impair the individual’s worthiness and ability to serve as a professional veterinarian. 

 

          (d)  In determining whether a particular conviction would materially and substantially impair the applicant’s worthiness and ability to practice, the following and any other relevant considerations shall be weighed:

 

(1)  Age and maturity at the time the criminal act was committed;

 

(2)  The degree of culpability required for conviction of the crime and any mitigating factors including motive for commission of the crime.

 

(3)  The classification of the criminal act and the seriousness of actual and potential harm to persons or property;

 

(4)  Criminal history and the likelihood that criminal conduct will be repeated;

 

(5)  The permissibility of service as a professional veterinarian within the terms of any parole or probation;

 

(6)  Proximity or remoteness in time of the criminal conviction; and

 

(7)  Any evidence offered which would support good professional character.

 

          (e)  No behavioral problem which endangers the welfare or personal safety of clients, patients

or other veterinary personnel; and

 

          (f)  No practice within the state of New Hampshire within the previous five years with an expired, lapsed, suspended or revoked license.

Source.  #9464-B, eff 4-23-09

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/state_agencies/vet100-700.html



New Hampshire has now made it acceptable to have a history of criminal behavior---- as long as it isn't a felony conviction of animal abuse!

How lovely~~ have there been ANY felony convictions of animal abuse? How many??

I guess you can have all kinds of "other" felony convictions though??

 

View Entry

Wednesday, August 18th 2010

7:10 PM

Georgia~~ good for you (so far anyways)

  • Mood:

The Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine recently suspended Dr. Jim T. Lewis.

 

ALBANY — The Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine recently accepted the suspension of an individual practicing in Albany.

The indefinite suspension of Dr. Jim T. Lewis became effective at the board’s Aug. 4 meeting.

Documentation provided by the Secretary of State’s office indicated the chain of events was started by an incident late last year.

“On or about December 11, 2009, Respondent entered a guilty plea to five felony counts of an Indictment filed against him in Case Number I:09-CR-2-(WLS) in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (Albany Division) which counts related to the acquisition of controlled substances by forgery and/or fraud,” the documents read.

“On or about February 25, 2010, the United States District for the Middle District of Georgia sentenced Respondent to two years probation for each count to run concurrently.”

The records indicate Lewis is not to practice veterinary medicine in Georgia until further order from the board. He is also expected to obtain continuing education and pay a license renewal fee.

Lewis may not petition to have the suspension lifted for another two years, the documentation states.

“At such time, the Respondent may petition the Board to lift the suspension by providing evidence that he has complied with all the terms of the federal criminal probation. Prior to the Board considering Respondent’s petition to have the suspension lifted, the Board shall review and evaluate the Respondent’s current condition and his compliance with the federal criminal probation,” the document read.

A call to a home phone listing for a Dr. Jim T. Lewis resulted in a Herald reporter being told Monday afternoon the call would be returned. A phone call was not received as of 6 p.m.

View Entry

Monday, August 16th 2010

2:10 PM

The WWW allows consumers to make "informed decisions" regarding choice of service providers~

  • Mood:

http://neighbors.denverpost.com/viewtopic.php?t=15247682

" It might not ultimately resolve the problem, but consumer-complaint websites give people the satisfaction of trumpeting their bad experience to the Internet universe, according to a report released Monday by an advocacy group.
The report by the Consumer Federation of America noted that while consumers fed up with a business are likely to turn to one of six popular websites to vent their...

Comment excerpts:

 

Article Discussion: Complaint websites let consumers vent, c

Postby KarmaWillGetYou on August 10th, 2010, 3:45 pm

I am not sure what the intent is behind mentioning the $1.5 million lawsuit a vet filed against a client, except to scare consumers from speaking out.

So I have a message for consumers reading this article, most especially people who want to post a bad review about a vet:

These defamation lawsuis are not turning out the way the vets want them to. The law strongly protects freedom of speech. I am unfamiliar with the website the article references, but if it's the one I think it is -- they have the dates of the lawsuit wrong. I am aware of a case in Texas where a vet sued a consumer for what she had said about him on her website. When that lawsuit was all said and done, the website not only was still up, but the information on it is even MORE damning about the vet because a couple of choice verbs or adjectives were removed but they were replaced by LOTS MORE FACTS AND RECORDS.

It was not a case where the vet failed to "save" her cat. He did an unauthorized surgery on her cat when it was clearly already dying. Using an outdated anesthesia that can cause organ damage in even healthy animals -- and this animal wasn't healthy. Moreover, the records show that at a minimum he under-treated her cat for kidney failure for YEARS.

As for the Texas vet board giving "little reaction" to complaints -- what else is new? They dismiss over 90% of consumer complaints, and I've read some of them and found them to be very compelling and believe they deserved action. It's a good old boys network of cronies.

Don't take my word for it, check out the Texas Vet Board watch site here: http://texasvetboardwatch.info/

Other Vet boards are just as bad. Check out the Bad Vet Daily (http://badvetdaily.blogspot.com) to see how LITTLE the vet boards do even when they do something.

So do your fellow pet lovers a favor: If you have a bad experience with a vet, PLEASE POST A REVIEW ABOUT IT. It could save our pets' lives. And believe me, there is nothing "spurious" about most people's veterinary complaints.
KarmaWillGetYou
Stefani O
Stefani's recent comments
Mark this user as a friend
Ignore posts from this user
 
Zip Code: 20902
Posts: 1
Joined: August 10th, 2010, 3:43 pm

Postby SukiStory on August 11th, 2010, 9:05 am

I am indeed the woman that the vet in Texas sued, but the $1.5 million is much less significant (mainly because there was/is no way this vet was/is EVER going to get a penny out of me, nor was ANY judgment ever issued to that effect regarding ANY money of ANY kind) than the fact that what he was really after was both temporary and permanent INJUNCTIONS to try to silence me. That's the real story. This clown must have thought that his money and his lawyers could overturn the First Amendment and force me to never speak or write about what he did to my cat ever again. Obviously, he FAILED.

My Veterinary Abuse Network website is not only up and running without one second of interruption by that jerk, as Ms. Olsen pointed out it contains even more damning information, documents, and patient records pertaining to this "doctor." As for words being changed or removed, I do need to clarify this: The web site is and always has been under my SOLE control - at no time did a court make me do anything. I can change the site, the wording, the format, and the appearance every day of the week, and neither this vet nor anyone else can do anything about it. I and ONLY I choose the words that I use to describe these events, and if I choose to change them the next day, and/or change them back the way they were, I am free to do so. The ONLY judgment issued in this case was actually AGAINST the vet, issued by the Fourth COA when he attempted to overturn the lower court's ruling that denied him his injunction.

There is no court order, gag order, or any other impediment to my site. I fought the injunction, we beat back his ridiculous demands to remove his name and his treatment of Suki, and in fact, HIS lawyer called MY attorney the night before trial to talk "settlement" -- very odd behavior for a plaintiff, we thought. :-) They never showed their faces in open court the next morning when the judge DISMISSED this vet's case against me. It took everything out of me, but I fought and beat this "doctor" who thought he could bully me into silence. A word of caution to any other vets thinking of doing the same thing - you may want to review my web site and see if you want to risk even MORE exposure for your actions. Your choice.
 
SukiStory
Julie C
Julie's recent comments
Mark this user as a friend
Ignore posts from this user
 
Zip Code: 78209
Posts: 1
Joined: August 10th, 2010, 7:05 pm
 
View Entry

Monday, August 16th 2010

11:29 AM

How many are feeling the rising pet cost pressures?

  • Mood:

Find latest lifestyle information on fashion, relationships, family, food, outdoors and pets. Read Calgary Herald to get more information on lifestyles.,Re: "Vet bills overwhelming low-income pet owners," Aug. 11.

Sadly, this will be my last pet

 

 
 
 

Re: "Vet bills overwhelming low-income pet owners," Aug. 11.

As a pet owner for 40 years, I beg to differ with Dr. Darrell Dalton that the cost of more advanced procedures such as hip replacements is causing veterinary charges for common procedures to rise.

Those advanced procedures are now done in the new specialized pet hospitals that are sprouting up in Calgary.

In theory, the regular veterinary clinics should be showing no unusual increases since they are referring their complicated cases to the larger hospitals and thus do not need to carry the cost of the expensive equipment.

I recently was faced with the possibility of having to put down a perfectly healthy pet because of the huge cost of a common problem. Had I not been able to access a veterinarian elsewhere, the choice would have been impossible.

When my veterinarian of 25 years retired a few years ago, the new hospitals were just starting and pet insurance was being pushed. Now, even though I do all my own teeth cleaning and nail clipping, common emergencies are priced out of reach.

I simply cannot afford a pet. This will, sadly, be my last.

Gwen Smyth, Calgary



Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Sadly+this+will+last/3403012/story.html#ixzz0wmWVUURy
View Entry