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.

April 26, 2014: the 15th Anniversary of Suki's Death

"Suki's Sunflower," pastel.
Copyright 2011, Julie Catalano

April 26, 2014--Fifteen years. Fifteen years since my Suki was taken from me by a so-called doctor who had no right, reason, or permission to do what he did. 

Of the hundreds of fellow victims I have communicated with over 15 years, we all agree, almost to a person: My life will never be the same. 

 

But we keep fighting. 

We fight through the maze of state veterinary boards who frequently look the other way, letting a vet walk scot-free or administering not much more than a slap on the wrist, if that.

We witness endless frustrations with a legal system that gives little or no protection to our beloved family members who turn into worthless property once a vet has harmed or killed them. 

We shake our heads as we have to listen to the endless, disgusting filth spread by smug BadVets and their sadistic groupies who delight in taunting us, "Everything dies, get over it, get help" no matter how much documented evidence exists to prove negligence or malpractice. Sadists don't care. Their job is to inflict the maximum amount of pain, not to be bothered with facts. 

We slog through the death threats and hate mail (and after 15 years I must hold the record), along with sanctimonious preaching by a vet's friends, family, and fans who 1)  have no earthly idea what really happened, or 2) worse, know what happened but couldn't care less, because their friend comes before any laws, statutes, humanity, or decency. And BadVets love it, because they already know what they did; the fun part is watching the clueless fans buy into the lie. As one of the investigators in Austin told me: "For some of these people, it's a game." 

 

Believe me, I know exactly what he meant. 

But after 15 years I think I can say that things are slowly...slowly... getting better. Little by little, as victims find each other, tell our stories, file board complaints, and use our websites, blogs, and social media to get the word out, there will be fewer places for the worst of the profession to hide. Increased media coverage on BadVets has accomplished two wonderful things: Documented cases of allegations, charges and/or convictions; and putting the vets' names and their own words, in writing, for public scrutiny, forever. 

 

Vet boards know they are being watched too. Some are handling it better than others. 

So we keep fighting. For better laws, better procedures and policies at the state board level, and better protection for companion animals who never deserved what was done to them. We don't this for our pets. For most of us, our pets are dead. We do this, as I frequently say, for the people who have not yet met the vet who's going to change their lives forever. May you never meet that vet. 

Thank you for your unflagging support, friendship, love, encouragement, and most of all for your own advocacy. We will make a difference. We are making a difference. 

-- Julie Catalano, Founder, Veterinary Abuse Network and Suki's Safe Haven

Founded in memory of Suki the cat, victim of Edward J. Nichols, Crestway Animal Clinic, San Antonio, Texas 

Related: 

"Fifteen Years," The Veterinary Abuse Network, vetabusenetwork.com, April 26, 2014

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! 

Suki's Safe Haven is One Year Old Today!

Suki, hard at "work" in our office all those years ago--and still
today serving as my guiding spirit to help as many people as possible
avoid the kind of BadVet who killed her. 

Suki's blog turns one today—the first of what I hope will be many years of helping people to become more informed veterinary consumers and most importantly, know what to do to keep their pets safe at the vet's and what to do to vets who don't.

I can't believe the thousands of page views the blog has generated in just a year. Of course we're nowhere near the numbers of our mother site, The Veterinary Abuse Network (VAN). Vetabusenetwork.com has been up in one form or another continuously since 2000 and has built an amazing following of bereaved and outraged pet owners and guardians eager for anything that would provide information about  BadVets and the systems that protect them. In 2012 alone VAN had 26,623 unique visitors; 40,761 visits; 106,216 pages viewed; and 369,613 hits. Add the previous eleven years and that's an awful lot of people searching for information and resources on everything from How to File a Complaint Against a Vet to watching out for "bargain basement" vets who practice substandard care in Beware of Dr. CheapVet, and of course the horror that started it all: my precious companion's fight for life in Suki's Story.

But Suki's Safe Haven is still a baby, and we're just getting started. I can tell you in our first year our most popular post has been Filing a Complaint With Your State Board: Why Do It. That tells me I need to do more posts that help people file complaints with their state boards. I know it's daunting to take on this huge, oppressive machine of vets (and their lawyers), state boards (and their lawyers), the state's Veterinary Medical Associations (and their lawyers), but the fact is that I always urge victims to file on their BadVets no matter how small the odds are that anything will be done. As a recent victim reminded me, it's about exposure—the bane of every lying, sneaky, manipulative, incompetent, negligent, malpracticing vet. Even one complaint can catch the worst of these creeps—and it just might be yours. Let's keep up the pressure on these boards to do their job and hold these BadVets accountable in ways serious enough to deter any other creep from doing the same thing. Period.

A post that surprised me with its popularity was the one on Gene Giggleman, DVM: “Think There Are No Cruel Vets?” Maybe that's because Giggleman was getting some pretty scary press elsewhere: Read about his other shenanigans in the excellent story by reporter Yamil Berard in the April 5, 2012 Fort Worth Star Telegram: “Grapevine veterinarian acknowledges issuing blank health forms for raided business.” 

And there's more...

Inhumane euthanasia? Coerced euthanasia? It happens—and more often than you'd like to think. Barbara Albright's Pocket's Story from New Hampshire illustrates the former, and there are a disturbing number of stories about the latter. Read Ken and Nonna Newman's horror story in  media coverage on their precious Trali. It happens.

Not surprisingly, our most popular page was The Lawsuit. If you haven't yet read how Edward J. Nichols of Crestway Animal Clinic came after me with three bottom-feeding lawyers in a bully SLAPP suit to try to take away my First Amendment rights with first a temporary injunction and then a permanent one (he failed at both), take a few minutes--you might enjoy the tail, um, tale of a cowardly  vet who waved the white flag the night before trial. I still smile every time I think of my attorney telling me when it was over: “Julie, you kicked his ass.” And now with Texas enacting anti-SLAPP legislation, it will be even harder for bully vets like Ed Nichols and Crestway Animal Clinic to use their wealth and the legal system to try to intimidate, threaten, or force a victim into silence. If you've been sued by a bully vet who doesn't want the public to know what he or she did to your pet and is willing to pay big bucks to tear your life apart, I want to know about it. The public has the right to know who and where these creeps are operating. 

The subject of “Vaccinations: What You Don't Know About Them Can Kill Your Pet” led to steady traffic for Texan Jena Gonzalez's fight to Educate Before You Vaccinate. Speaking of education, years after her death, Mattie's Story still touches many about what can happen when an arrogant vet ignores the principle of informed consent and decides to take matters into his own hands, in this case Dr. Bob Esplin of Sylvania Veterinary Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. Read Esplin's in-your-face quote and wonder how many other pets suffered Mattie's fate?

And so many, many more stories. Check out the archives of 2012 to see what you missed, and share this blog with all the animal lovers in your life. They need to know what can happen to their pets at a vet's office--and what happens when the vet gets away with it with the help of their staff, techs, other vets, their insurance companies, their lawyers, and the state board systems that are supposed to be protecting our pets, not the vets. Some of them even hire webmasters (or as I call some of them--spam-masters) to try to "bury" the rankings of negative reviews and web sites, too stupid to know how much trouble that will get them in, but then stupidity is rampant among BadVets. How stupid? Too stupid to know how stupid they really are. Which works in your favor. Believe it. 

To everybody who writes about and fights against BadVets, I cannot thank you enough for your work, support and encouragement. It's a whole new world of communication out there and it is growing exponentially as a true network of veterinary victims evolves into the next generation--savvy, smart, kick-ass, informed consumers to hopefully take the place of the old, tired, ignorant guard who thinks all vets love animals and none of them makes any money. BadVets cannot do what they do without your blind trust. Stop handing it over because they have a white coat and a stethoscope and they're so "nice" and "cheap." Do your homework.   I believe most vets are good in the same way I believe most people are good--but it's not enough. This is a profession that has enjoyed secrecy and protection behind closed doors for too long, and it's time to drag some of these vampires out into the sunlight and watch them shrivel up. 

Although I write alone, Suki is still hard at work as my guiding spirit, and we will always be a team. Without her strength and her will to live even through the most hideous and prolonged mistreatment imaginable, there would be no vetabusenetwork.com, no Suki's Story, no Suki's Safe Haven, and no future foundation that I hope to establish to help veterinary victims in real, tangible ways.  It is my dream to bring together enough people to get laws changed, policies improved, and most of all, transparency in the systems that have enjoyed their little secret, closed-door dealings to protect the worst of these monsters. 

In the meantime, Suki and I will continue to work hard to do everything we can to help keep people's pets safe at the vet. We can't do it alone. Keep writing, keep fighting, keep connecting, posting, sharing, tweeting, blogging, and spreading the message—especially the message that we will continue to send to every incompetent, negligent, sloppy, careless, lazy, arrogant vet who ever harmed or killed someone's beloved companion:

We will never forget. We will never be silenced.

Don't miss any posts! Subscribe by email in the box at upper right, under Suki's picture. Your address will never be shared in any way. 

For information on filing a complaint with your state board, go to Filing a Complaint Against Your Vet or contact me here: Suki's Safe Haven

Is Your Veterinarian Trying to Game Google? Watch for These Red Flags (and What You Can Do About It)

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The Internet is a mixed blessing. Never in the history of veterinary malpractice have veterinary victims been able to find each other, compare notes, offer advice and support, research veterinary malpractice cases and board complaints, and help one another get through the horrific process of sorting through the wreckage of their lives after an incompetent, negligent veterinarian has injured or killed their companions.

The Internet is a double-edged sword for BadVets. It makes it more difficult for the worst of them to fly under the radar; many veterinary boards post their state's disciplinary actions online; and searching for a vet's name and/or the clinic's name can often lead to a client or potential client finding out things the vet would prefer that nobody know about.

It's the "searching" part that provides BadVets with a silver lining: There are ways to manipulate the public in cyberspace in much the same way they do in real life; specifically, perverting SEO (search engine optimization) techniques and misusing links and aggregate sites to artificially increase their page rankings on Google. In short, gaming Google.This makes it more difficult for the average person to find anything negative about BadVets, because the first few pages can be dominated by the vet's manufactured trash specifically and deliberately designed to "push down" the rankings of sites that have negative information about the vet.  

If you recognize your veterinarian in any of the following, take note. Depending on how brazen, arrogant, or stupid they are, BadVets may be leaving a trail of evidence that you can gather, document, and use in filing a board complaint for unprofessional conduct, honesty and fair dealing, or similar statutes; or possibly even a lawsuit for things like false advertising and fraud (e.g.,In Texas, the statute of limitations for fraud is four years, so it's important to keep good records if you think a vet is or has been trying to game search engine rankings). Remember these involve two entirely different jurisdictions: 1) Check your individual state's Veterinary Practice Act for specifics on categories like honesty, fair dealing, false advertising, unprofessional conduct, and the like; and 2) consult with an attorney licensed to practice law in your state to discuss lawsuit options regarding fraud and false advertising. 

In the meantime, watch for any signs of the following:

On This Very Special Night, a Gift of Thanks from Suki and Me

Christmas Eve. For me it was always the most magical day of the year, especially as daytime turned to dusk, dusk turned to dark, and the dark would yield gloriously to twinkling lights everywhere, yummy aromas coming from the kitchen, and a friend stopping by for dinner and a movie. We would settle in for a night of wrapping presents, good food and conversation, hot chocolate, and – if Suki was very, very good, and of course she always was, even if her “help” at present-wrapping made more work for me – a tiny crumb of a Christmas cookie as a special treat. All was well with the world. 

Now that picture is like a yellowed image from an ancient, crumbling book, from a life I can barely remember anymore. The life “before” – as we who have been through this nightmare refer to it – our pets were lost to veterinary negligence, malpractice, incompetence, arrogance, stupidity, and yes, outright abuse, taking from us our pets, our trust, our money, our jobs, our peace of mind, our sense of safety, and in some cases, our futures. 

There is one tiny bright spot for me on this date. Guess which day Edward J. Nichols of Crestway Animal Clinic in San Antonio was notified by certified mail from the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners that he was under investigation in Suki's case? That's right – Christmas Eve. How's that for serendipity? I'd like to think one very special Siamese had a hand in that, with a little help from all the other defenseless souls harmed or killed by their own monsters. I think of that every December 24, and smile at Suki's last little gift to me for all those wonderful Christmas Eves that will be no more.

Of course I will think of Suki tonight, overseeing the decorating and cooking, yowling in the kitchen as she got a whiff of her special baked organic chicken, pacing in front of the oven, reminding me of those old Mervyn's commercials with a customer pressed against the glass saying “Open-open-open.” I'll remember her sitting in my lap, our eyes locked on each other's, with the Snow Pas de Deux from the Nutcracker Suite playing in the background. Remember this moment, I said to myself, etch this forever, take this picture. And of course, real pictures of her, countless of them, under the tree, by the tree, in the tree (Suki was a climber), sitting in her little condo, decorated with its own miniature tree and cat ornaments, cat toys, cat everything, everywhere. 

But most of all, tonight I will think of all the others I have met along the way, going through the same neverending nightmare – some for years, others just now arriving in a club that nobody would choose to belong to. I get sweet notes from them, these victims from everywhere. One writes, “Keep the faith. I will always have you and Suki in my heart.” Another says, “I am grateful to have you understand what it feels like to have your world shattered, your life forever altered and I do not feel so alone it in knowing you are out there.” And more, and still more. They keep me going on my darkest nights. 

I am so grateful for my longtime fellow advocates, plus a whole new wave of smart, savvy fighters putting up web sites, blogs, and Facebook pages to help make sure that someday, eventually, there will be no place for the monsters to hide. I started my site in 2000 so that nobody going through this endless hell would ever feel alone. I am here to tell you that you are not. Not ever. You and your precious companions – whose names would take up this entire blog – are always with me, every day, every night. Especially on this night. On this very Christmas night. 

Much love to you and your companions, and many thanks to all who work so hard to make sure that our stories are never forgotten.

Suki and Julie, our final Christmas Eve, 1998. Her tree was never put up again.

YouTube video: Christmas Canon - Trans Siberian Orchestra

The Secret Truth About Abusive Veterinarians

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"We dance around a ring and suppose but the secret sits in the middle and knows.”

“The Secret Sits,” Robert Frost

My friend and fellow advocate Barbara Albright has had this quote on her site, Pocket's Story from New Hampshire, for years, but it was only recently that I fully understood how it applies to incompetent, negligent vets. Here's how that happened:

At a public meeting of the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) in Austin, Texas, one of the board investigators and I had a conversation I'll never forget: He told me that whenever you see a vet reprimanded for violating recordkeeping statutes, it's sometimes because there were other, more serious violations, but the allegations were in effect “plea bargained” down to recordkeeping. Because disciplined vets sign an Agreed Order – vets have to “agree” to be disciplined – they and their lawyers do whatever they can to get the final results to an outcome they can live with – a little slap on the wrist, an "informal" reprimand, a “stayed” suspension (meaning the vet doesn't miss a day of work), and/or a puny fine.

Of course this board employee wasn't telling me anything that I and my fellow advocates didn't already know. Even if vets have directly or indirectly caused or contributed to the death of a pet, or great harm was done, their goal is to obtain the least amount of discipline to save face. Vets are rarely, if ever, disciplined only for sloppy, shabby, incomplete records, never mind that such records are a giant red flag as to what kind of truly inadequate, deficient vet you're dealing with.

Here's to the Crazy Ones...

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I ran across this quote today -- part of an early Apple Computer advertising campaign, specifically a television commercial in 1997. It is reportedly a collaboration between Ken Segall and Rob Siltanen, with input and ultimate approval by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Being a longtime copywriter myself for my corporate clients, I recognize and admire it not only as a thing of beauty and an iconic mantra for innovators and entrepreneurs, but also as an inspiring message for anybody fighting seemingly insurmountable odds. 

For all of us who work every day to bring awareness and education to a largely unaware public that unknowingly entrusts its pets to some unethical, incompetent, and downright abusive veterinarians, and for all who have been consistently defamed, attacked, and ridiculed by those same vets, their lawyers, family, friends, and supporters pronouncing us mentally unstable, sick, and yes, crazy, I have only this to say: I'd rather be crazy than a liar. I hope this legendary quote reminds all of us that no matter how insane it sometimes seems to keep fighting, we can never, ever, ever give up. 

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

- Apple Inc.

Life, Interrupted: Veterinary Victims Deal with the Aftermath of Loss

Suki and me and happier times,
before Edward J. Nichols, Crestway
Animal Clinic, took everything.

It was 13 years ago tonight that I held my Suki for the last time. It's funny how you can pinpoint the exact moment that your life changes – but not at the time it's happening. It sometimes takes years to realize the full extent of the damage and devastation the complete betrayal by a incompetent, negligent, and abusive veterinarian can cause. Only in hindsight can you see the wreckage – in many cases a hit and run.

Like most every other veterinary victim I've ever met, known of, or heard from, my life has never been the same since this happened on April 26, 1999. Actually, make that April 19, the day Suki collapsed and I made the biggest mistake of my life: trusting a “doctor” to not do anything to harm or kill her. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I could turn back the clock and never allow the monster anywhere near her, or me.