What happened was tragic. It is painful to relive the three weeks of January 2008 that led up to Smokey's death on January 29th at the ER in Bowie, MD. It is so painful because, with the shared knowledge we have now, the regret of the blind trust we once had for veterinarians is enormous. If only someone had shaken us awake before it was too late! If only we had paid attention to the warnings of those who had walked this awful path before! If only, if only...The purpose of our work now is to avoid others the heartbreak of a pet's needless suffering.
We thought that the best way of giving a detailed day by day account of what happened would be to post the correspondence surrounding Smokey's ill-fated treatment at College Park Animal Hospital in January of 2008. Here are the links:
1. My letter to Thomas McMichael, DVM
2. Dr. McMichael's transcribed voice message to me on February 7th 2008 and my response to it on the next day
3. My response to Dr. McMichael's rebuttal to the State Veterinary Board
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
A College Park Animal Hospital Vet Receives a Formal Letter of Censure
I was just notified that the veterinarian who treated Smokey at College Park Animal Hospital received a formal letter of censure concerning his "failure to recognize cardiomegaly and increased pulmonary interstitial pattern on the thoracic radiographs taken of Smokey on January 8, 2008." This excerpt is from an October 29, 2009 letter from the Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, addressed to me. The letter goes on to state that prior to accepting censure, this veterinarian "participated in classes offered at a regional conference as a means of improving his ability to read readiographs and ultrasounds." The letter to me also stated that a letter of censure is a matter of public record.
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