TWENTY YEARS AGO - AUGUST 17, 2000 - Suki's killer Edward J. Nichols, Crestway Amimal Clinic, protected by rotten TBVME system in Austin, Texas

 

 

AUSTIN, Tex., AUGUST 17, 2020 -- It was 20 years ago today, August 17, 2000, when Suki's killer Edward J Nichols, Crestway Animal Clinic, attended an Informal Conference (IC) in Austin, TX, to decide whether 1) Nichols would be disciplined for his actions toward Suki as outlined in my 53-page complaint and documentation dated December 7, 1999, 2) the complaint warranted further investigation, or 3) the complaint would be dismissed.

 

I was in that little conference room, witnessing countless lies told by Suki's killer Ed Nichols to a group of guys who had ZERO authority to discipline him. There was NO vet board, just this impotent little group of laymen led by ONE vet from the board. Martin E Garcia III, who was in charge. But the system in Texas protects its pet-killing "doctors" by making sure there is no official record of those lies. 

 

Like everything else, it is up to me to tell What Happened to Suki and What Happened to Me in that room in Austin, witnessing Nichols' repeated lies never realizing he would still be telling them 20 years later. But then at the time I was sure he would be punished for what he had done, for so long, in so many ways, to Suki.

 

After all, I had every piece of proof in his own handwriting and chart. 

 

On that day, Martin E. Garcia III, a hideous now-disgraced but filthy rich vet who as of 2011 no longer practices thanks to being caught and officially disciplined for some, ahem, controlled substance record keeping violations of his own, decided (after conferring privately with Nichols after I was told to leave the room) that my complaint was to be dismissed, "GIVEN HER AGE."

 

GIVEN HER AGE, the IC was over and Nichols had won. 

 

Garcia never even said Suki's name, referring to her only as an "old cat." Even after the investigator and I caught Nichols in lies he had told Garcia when I was out of the room, Garcia's mouth formed a smarmy smirk and ignored us, looking only across the table at Nichols in a locked gaze. 

 

As the ONLY guy in that room with any authority (the rest were there only for window dressing) Garcia had sole power to let Nichols go -- and he did. And he used Suki's age against her to excuse everything Nichols had done to her and not done for her. 

 

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki could be operated on under dangerous anesthesia with no owner consent.

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki was not entitled to presurgical labwork who, by Nichols own handwriting, was in "multiple organ shutdown."

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki was not entitled to IV fluids before, during or after the unauthorized dangerous surgery under anesthesia for a cat who, in Nichols own handwriting, was "v. dehydrated."

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki was not entitled to potassium supplementation with K count of 2.9.

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki was forced to endure dehydration, surgery and anesthesia with a phosphorous count of 17.1 at the time of surgery.

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki could be put into an induction box and forced to breathe a mix of nitrous oxide and halothane, pure poison that was ultimately the cause of acute renal failure in a cat with provable CRF with no such Dx on her records.

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki was forced to endure whatever Edward J. Nichols wanted to do to an elderly cat who had collapsed the morning of April 19, 1999 and had lost the use of her back legs.

GIVEN HER AGE, Suki could be pumped full of dexamethasone by Nichols who had written "release home tonight" on her chart, telling me in person to "take her home and be with her." That was April 19, 1999. I took Suki the next day to a hospital who did everything they could, but could not undo the irreversible damage over weeks and months inflicted on her by "Dr" Nichols. 

 

And at the IC in Austin, one final insult from the creep Garcia, who looked very pleased with himself as did Suki's killer Ed Nichols:

GIVEN HER AGE, neither Suki nor I were entitled to accurate medical records. Nichols had repeatedly left off: weight, temperature, diagnoses, symptoms, recommendations, recheck dates, Rx, and the type/frequency/amount of home subQ fluids which is also an Rx. 

There was no indication of CRF, anemia, or hypokalemia on her chart, all of which Suki had. 

Nichols piped up and said that the labwork served as the diagnoses and therefore it was not required for him to put those on her chart. Garcia smiled and nodded like he brainless imbecile he is. 

 

When I challenged Garcia on how he could justify Nichols' mistreatment of Suki in so many different ways. Lee Matthews, attorney representing the board in that IC (I was refused my request to bring my attorney), screamed at the top of his lungs in my face: "YOU ARE NOT A VETERINARIAN!!!!" 

 

So Garcia wouldn't even discipline Suki's killer for the pathetic, lazy, sloppy, careless state of his records. When asked by board attorney Lee Matthews why so much information was left off of his records (including the "many many conversations" Nichols claimed that he had with me that never happened) -- Nichols replied: "I inherited that record keeping system from the vet I bought the clinic from." 

 

Garcia accepted that "explanation," too, even though "the system" was a piece of paper and a pen. Oh, and White Out for those pesky things no one should see. Suki's original chart had White Out on it. In the IC I  asked what that was and Nichols said he didn't do it so he didn't know.

 

I watched BadVet Edward J. Nichols convince BadVet Martin E. Garcia III that he was not responsible for his own record keeping and Garcia was perfectly okay with that. No other vet but Nichols saw Suki during that time, 13 visits in three years. I mention that because Nichols griped and moaned "I hardly ever saw Suki - Julie rarely brought her in." 13 times in three years - the last four times in the last four weeks in his "care." All verified by his own chart, and yet in typical Nichols' fashion, blatantly lied about things that were provably false. 

 

Lie after lie after lie. Just another day with Suki's killer and the people in Austin whose job it is to protect "doctors" like him. 

 

And now, to clear up just one of Nichols' enduring lies, of which there are countless:

There was NEVER A TEXAS BOARD HEARING in Suki's case. The Informal Conference is a low-level closed-door meeting around a table with no record of its proceedings. 

By contrast, board hearings are public just like trials, with recordings. They are open to the public with a public record.

 

Nichols has lied about that for 20 years like he has lied about me and Suki for 21, ever since we both defied him -- she kept herself alive for one week after what he inflicted in her in that OR on April 19, 1999. And I refused to reveal Suki's whereabouts during that following week as he repeatedly called to scream at me, demanding to know where she was and why the "idiots" treating her "haven't bothered to call me!" The ego on this freak show is beyond belief. 

 

I refused to tell the screaming Nichols where Suki was, knowing above all that I had to protect Suki, even though the damage he inflicted turned out to be irreversible. Three expert vets independently confirmed his repeated violations of the standard of care to the court during Nichols' insane SLAPP suit against me from 2005-2008, where he got his ass handed to him several different ways. I can never thank those vets enough. Nichols had not one expert vet to defend what he did to Suki. NOT ONE. 

 

For me, today is just as difficult to get through as Suki's actual death, because it reminds me of witnessing that pompous little "Enforcement Committee" in Austin letting Nichols kill Suki all over again, right in front of me, in a sham of a proceeding called the Informal Conference.

 

Garcia's blatant, indefensible ignoring of every piece of evidence was a horror show I will never forget or forgive. The exact same evidence that Garcia ignored is the same documentation that my three expert vets saw in Nichols' failed lawsuit against me. 

 

I watched an incompetent, negligent, lazy, careless, sloppy, stupid sorry excuse for a"doctor" lie to the one group I TRUSTED to bring even a small amount of justice for a cat who never did anything to deserve the repeated insanity inflicted on her by a vet who now struts around claiming that a "hearing" in Austin "exonerated" him. It's a lie. There was never a hearing for Edward J. Nichols. He lied his way out of all accountability. 

 

Today the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners is STILL allowing BadVets to harm and kill pets so they can brag to their friends, families, clueless customers, and "reporters" that they never did anything wrong and "the board" proved it. 

 

All that the TBVME proves every day is that they have only one mission -- to protect BadVets at any cost. And there wasn't even a board in Suki's case - she wasn't even worth that. 

 

Just one lousy, crummy, disgusting vet who surrendered his own license in 2011 rather than take his disciplinary medicine but who had "cleared" Suki's killer in 2000 while smiling at me just to let me know that he could. Another coward just like Nichols. The system showed Garcia plenty of mercy while he used that same system to smirk at and demean me. 

 

The one bright spot - make that two: Filthy rich Martin E. Garcia III can no longer practice in Texas, and killioinaire coward Edward J. Nichols has spent the last 21 years lying, including running from his own lawsuit the night before my trial, smearing my name, and spreading his lies to whoever will listen. His lying and cowardice continue to prove -- better than I ever could -- what he did to Suki and what he did to me. 

 

Still lying. Forever lying. Eternally lying. That does make me happy as I can only hope and pray that the considerable weight of countless constant lies, deflections, and distractions over 21 years is somehow taking its toll. 

 

And I did get in one final statement to Garcia before I left that little room in Austin, looking straight at his smug, ugly face, "This is far from over." 

 

I think I made good on that. And I said it with a smile. -- JC.

Suki the Siamese, happily at work in happier times.

Nineteen Years: The Voice May Be Stilled, but It's Still a Voice

 

April 26, 2018-- Veterinary licensing and regulatory board systems may not be much, but for most vet victims it's all we've got. On this 19th anniversary of Suki's passing (April 26, 1999), it's more important than ever to speak up and speak out to the government entities who are charged with protecting the public but may in fact be more concerned with protecting those who harmed and killed our pets. Below are my citizen comments for the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) submitted in January of this year with the hope that these words and the words of so many others devastated by the loss of their family members at the hands of incompetent, negligent and abusive veterinarians will someday, some how, some way, be heard by somebody at the state level who is truly interested in making a difference.--JC

January 16, 2018

To the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners:

When my cat Suki was killed by a Texas veterinarian in April 1999 I was plunged into a nightmare that not even the most imaginative horror writer could have conjured. Apart from having to live with the knowledge that a vet misused his education and skills to actually harm rather than help a family pet--which was horrifying enough--I also had to deal with a board system that ensured that there would never be Justice for Suki.

I refused to accept that fate, and instead chose to go public with Suki's Story that told chapter and verse, with supporting documentation from his own records, how Edward J. Nichols of Crestway Animal Clinic had mistreated my innocent cat so badly and for so long that to this day, not one veterinarian on this planet has ever been able to explain why this vet did what he did. Not even the vet himself. Instead he resorted to revisionist history, blame shifting, personal and professional defamation, threats and lies--all tactics that he has used for almost two decades, including filing an abusive SLAPP suit in 2005 in a years-long failed attempt to enforce prior restraint through a permanent (unconstitutional) injunction which was denied by the courts and affirmed at the appellate level.

Try as he might and despite his millions, Suki's killer cannot suppress the truth.

But it wasn't surprising that he thought he could. After all, he had had help from a system that deliberately looked the other way. Like so many BadVets before and since, he walked scot-free from all accountability despite a mountain of verifiable evidence ranging from repeated breaches of the Professional Standard of Humane Treatment to insanely egregious record keeping violations.  According to the then-reviewing Board Secretary (and now thankfully license-free vet due to his own problems with controlled substance record keeping), Suki was "an old cat."

Later, when I asked the Board attorney at what age is an animal patient no longer entitled to the Professional Standard of Humane Treatment--I really needed to know so that I could pass on that information to others who also needed to know--he was silent. He remained silent during all the subsequent times I asked him that question.

Maybe you, as a Board, can choose to be silent when tough questions asked of you are too uncomfortable or unanswerable, but we, as victims, cannot. The Texas veterinary board system failed Suki and me, and if the last almost 19 years are any indication, it continues to fail many people who had no idea that incompetent, negligent, and abusive vets can and do get away with inflicting pain, loss, grief and yes, horror, first on our pets and then on us, using a board system that has repeatedly proven its allegiance to its own industry instead of the public they are charged with protecting.

When vet victims experience the double whammy of 1) losing a pet to veterinary malfeasance and then 2) watching a state agency use their power to protect a veterinarian rather than the public, there's not much to reassure veterinary victims.

Except this. These are hopeful times. Real life horror stories of abuse of power that were once untold, unacknowledged, and carefully protected from public view are being exposed. You may have the power, but we have the truth. We will speak that truth to power forever and we will do it in the disinfectant of daylight, so that the veterinary consumers of Texas can decide for themselves which side is more interested in protecting their animal companions. 

Thank you for your time.

Reporting a Vet and Filing a Board Complaint Against a Veterinarian: Why Do It?

It's easier than ever to report a vet -

many veterinary board sites have

forms to download and file electronically, or

mail the old-fashioned way.

UPDATE: Keep reading for news about disciplinary action taken against Martin E. Garcia, DVM, the unconscionable Texas board vet who looked the other way in Suki's case and let Ed Nichols of Crestway Animal Clinic walk even with proof of numerous incidents of negligence and incompetence. In 2011, the Texas board got Martin E. Garcia himself for "multiple years" of violations in controlled substance recordkeeping, including ordering 12 vials of Ketaset without establishing a veterinarian/client/patient relationship! 

People often ask me, “Why should I file a complaint against a veterinarian? Nothing will be done anyway. Look what happened to you and Suki.”

I can't argue. When I filed a detailed, fact-filled and documented complaint against Crestway Animal Clinic and Edward J. Nichols DVM, despite every piece of evidence of repeated and prolonged mistreatment – the jerk walked away scot-free. (You can read the timeline here at Crestway Animal Clinic – Who Did This to Suki and click on details and documentation from there.) Nichols was exonerated by one single board vet at a low level, off the record "meeting" - not an actual state board hearing. Your state may have an equally shoddy system. Here, nobody could explain the insane "exoneration" of a vet who had committed repeated and provable violations of the standard of care as later stated by expert vet opinions including a board certified anesthesiologist from Texas A&M.

So why should you file a complaint against a vet? It's true that the veterinary board systems are deeply and dangerously flawed. They routinely dismiss most complaints, some without even bothering to investigate anything. And even if you're lucky enough to get the vet held accountable, the disciplinary action is often puny and insulting: a small fine, some continuing education hours, possibly a suspension which will most likely be “stayed” (meaning it's on paper only – the vet can continue practicing during the suspension). If the vet is found to be practicing under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or is otherwise impaired by substance abuse, he or she is shuffled into a “peer assistance program” where “counseling” is provided by – wait for it – other vets.

Then there's the fear – of taking on rich, powerful, connected “professionals” who can and will use every available resource to try to crush, break, bankrupt, or destroy you; of the toll it will take on your life, work, finances, health, and sense of security; of what others will say when they find out you're going to all this trouble over “just an animal.” And the worst of all: having to relive the horror of a beloved pet's death as you attempt to get it all down on paper, knowing exactly what happened. And knowing without a doubt that the vet does too – and will lie and lie and lie. 

So why do it? Why bother? Here are my top five reasons why reporting a veterinarian is the best thing you can do – for yourself, your precious companion, your own peace of mind, and for all the lucky people and animals you might be saving from a vet from hell.

Tribute Site Spotlight: Spanky's Voice

UPDATE: BADVET GARY BRACKEEN'S LICENSE HAS BEEN REVOKED BY THE TBVME

This is a second in a series that spotlights veterinary victims' Tribute Sites that go beyond the story of their own tragedy to help educate others on matters of public concern, health, and safety.

The site: http://spankysvoice.weebly.com/

Site owner: Nettie (Sissy) Dunn

Veterinarian: Gary Brackeen, Anchor Road Veterinary Clinic, Angleton, Texas

I'll cut right to the chase: Gary Brackeen of Angleton, Texas, is a bad vet. 

 

A very bad vet. 

 

Don't believe me? Read what the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners essentially had to say about this “doctor” when they issued a formal reprimand against him on October 18, 2011 in their Agreed Order, which resulted in a two-year probation, orders to take continuing education, and to pay restitution to Spanky's owner.

Dr. Brackeen violated 5 (five) Rules of Professional Conduct and admitted to self-administering 3 (three) prescription medications 

Dr. Brackeen did not use the proper care or humane treatment that is required by the Veterinary Code of Ethics.

Dr. Brackeen did not use the proper care or humane treatment that is required by the Veterinary Code of Ethics

 

Dr. Brackeen allows his unlicensed help to perform and medically treat animals without his input

 

Dr Brackeen failed to record the required information that would be helpful in diagnosing why an animal died while in his care

 

Dr. Brackeen dispensed prescription drugs for his personal use

It's that last one that's the killer: As if a regular BadVet isn't bad enough, how about a BadVet prescribing drugs for himself? Brackeen admitted to self-prescribing Lasix (diuretic), amoxicillin (antibiotic), and methocarbamol (muscle relaxant). Like all BadVets everywhere, none of these creeps ever think the rules apply to them. But even for a BadVet, Brackeen is a real horror story--and for anybody who thinks cheap vet care is the way to go, you may want to rethink that decision.

Veterinary Abuse Network Marks Anniversary of Founding on August 19, 2000

Suki, victim of Edward Nichols,
Crestway Animal Clinic, San Antonio, TX,
and the guiding spirit behind VAN. 

It's our anniversary! We are either thirteen years old or ten years old, depending on how you count it. On August 19, 2000, two days after the monster who killed Suki was exonerated by a single board vet in Austin, I decided to start a site called S.A.V.E. Stop Abusive Vets Everywhere, to expose the travesty of injustice that took place in Austin when "Dr." Edward J. Nichols and Crestway Animal Clinic got away with prolonged, inexplicable, and hideous mistreatment of my most beloved companion. If a "doctor" this bad, this incompetent, this negligent, this stupid, arrogant, careless, sloppy, lazy and dishonest was allowed to inflict such medical horrors on an innocent animal, how many other "Ed Nichols" were out there putting pets at risk every day? 

Turns out way too many. When I began hearing from other vet victims from around the country and around the world, I decide that the site needed a bigger name to reflect what was obviously more than just one BadVet and one BadVetBoard. In 2003, S.A.V.E. evolved into The Veterinary Abuse Network, vetabusenetwork.com, and every year since then, more and more people are connecting with one another and mobilizing efforts. If we can't put an end to BadVets, then we can work at putting an end to the vet boards' protection of them, and to help foster laws that put a higher value on our animals as true members of our families--the very same human/animal bond that drives us to get our family members the best medical care possible. 

Many thanks to all of you who have written such wonderful messages of support and are fighting your own fights in your individual states. With every new victim I hear from who says they are filing a complaint, considering a vet mal lawsuit, putting up a blog, a site, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, organizing a picket, starting a petition, meeting with their elected representatives, attending their veterinary board meetings, fighting for their First Amendment rights, getting media coverage from investigative reporters, and spreading the word among their friends and neighbors about their own personal vet horror stories, I know that little by little, we WILL succeed. Our companions did not suffer and die in vain. We WILL hold more BadVets accountable--officially and unofficially, online and off--for their devastating, life-altering, unconscionably cruel and despicable mistreatment and deaths of our precious companions. As I say in Suki's Story:

"The monster can’t hurt Suki anymore. But he, and others like him, are still out there every day. Incompetent vets who “treat” our pets’ bodies, but can’t touch their spirits. They can steal our pets’ lives, but not their legacies. They can run away from the truth, but they can never escape themselves."

Together we will make sure that there is no place for BadVets to hide. Thank you for all you do for the animals, and keep fighting the good fight! 

Pet Dads: Remembering These Special Veterinary Victims on Father's Day and Always

 

"One More Day" -- video by Greg W. Munson

Read more about Stempy, Greg and Cindy after the jump. 

Of all of the veterinary victims who have lost their furkids to veterinary negligence and incompetence, there's something about a grown man fighting back tears that really gets to you. I don't know why. All I know is that my conversations and correspondence with men who have had to face what might possibly be the worst thing to ever happen to them―the loss of their beloved companion animal at the hands of a negligent vet―have been especially heart wrenching.

On this Father's Day, I recall breaking the news over the phone to my own dad about Suki's death.  After what seemed like forever, dad choked out one sentence--”She was a class act”--before breaking down and handing the phone to my mom, who could not speak at all after I told her. In fact, neither of my parents could set foot in my home for a full month after Suki's horrendous death from hideous mistreatment by an even more hideous quack. The thought of Suki―OUR Suki, our most wonderful, precious family member―taken so senselessly from her family was unbearable. For a man who had always been a dog person, remembering my dad finishing out Suki's little condo, bringing over a special “scratching log” and bowl of tasty homegrown grass, along with his camera to take pictures at Suki's little birthday parties, Suki's Christmas, Suki's Sitting Around, Suki's Everything, still makes me laugh. 

So to all of those wonderful Doggie Dads and Cat Pops, and all Pet Dads who have suffered the loss of their best friends because of a BadVet, you are in my thoughts today. Please know you are not alone. 

I can't let this Father's Day go by without a tribute to one of the most amazing Dog Dads I've ever known. Stempy the Shih Tzu―known as Daddy's Little Deputy―was the furkid of fellow Texan and consumer advocates Greg Munson and his wife Cindy.  

Think There Are No Cruel Vets? PETA Exposes Texas Vet Gene F. Giggleman, DVM, and His Smashing Squirrels Video -- and What You Can Do

Credit: scarysquirrel.org

Maybe you'll think this is okay because it's about squirrels, rats, and snakes. You know, those “unfuzzy” creatures who always seem to get the short end of the stick – or in this case, their heads against a cinder block – but I hope not, because it's tough to watch this very disturbing video caught by a PETA undercover investigator at U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., in Arlington Texas.

Because you have to wonder – if USGE attending veterinarian Gene F. Gigglemen, DVM, of Grapevine, Texas, inflicts such cruelty with such nonchalance to these "lesser" beings, what else is this freak doing to other animals behind closed doors? If he's like some other coldblooded vets out there, my guess would be...anything he wants.