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.

 1999-2019

20 YEARS AND COUNTING 

20 years of consumer advocacy for veterinary victims everywhere

With a lot of help from our friends! 

 

April 26, 2019--If anyone had told me in 1999 that I would be typing this 20 years in the future, I would have told them they were crazy. 

What I didn't know at that time was that the crazy hadn't even begun. 

Yes, Suki was hideously mistreated to death by "Dr" Ed Nichols, Crestway Animal Clinic, who on April 19, 1999 pushed a collapsed, v. dehydrated cat already in multiple organ shutdown from chronic renal failure (no chart note) into acute renal failure from which there is little chance of return, using dangerous anesthesia to perform an unauthorized surgery, pumping her with steroids, and leaving her alone, dying, in a cage without a word to me.
 
Suki defied him by keeping herself alive for another week.
That was my first lesson in what happens to those who make the huge mistake of defying a toxic and irredeemable BadVet--in this case a monster--who thinks the world and everyone in it is his to control. My second lesson in the dangers of standing up to a BadVet was when I went to get Suki's complete medical record and Nichols went completely bonkers--screaming, stomping, attacking, threatening, red faced and enraged. As my attorney said afterwards, laughing, when I relayed the actions of this lunatic, "The guy knows how much trouble he's in."

But the real portal to Hell was in Austin, the summer of 2000, where consummate liar Nichols got away with every single act of unspeakable negligence--with a little help from his friend and fellow BadVet Martin E. Garcia who deliberately ignored every piece of evidence of malpractice including "records" that were as pathetic and deficient as Nichols is. (Happily, Garcia no longer has a Texas vet license, having been caught in some controlled substance recordkeeping "issues" that spanned multiple years. And even after his big win at escaping all accountability for Suki's death by lying and his absolutely useless records, Nichols threatened me again in the lobby on the way out ("You just keep trying").

So I did.Through a three year abusive SLAPP suit thanks to monster (and loser) Ed Nichols.

And I am. Almost every day, reading and answering email, posting, researching. 

And I always will. I owe Suki that much, for trusting a monster who abused that trust. 

With time and technology, vet victims of veterinary malpractice, incompetence, negligence and abuse, hundreds of them, started to find one another. Long before there was social media, there were websites, blogs, message boards, support groups, email, and always the telephone where we could keep one another company through years (yes, years) of torturous insomnia and soul-crushing stress. I recall all-night talks and tears with other early victims, trying to figure out how and why professional "animal lovers" could commit these atrocities, until we realized that they were able to do so with the help of state vet boards and their own professional organizations dedicated to keeping these killers on the streets without one thought to the families they tore apart--first with the killings, and then with the lies.

Yes, a lot has happened in 20 years--way too much for a blog post. This doesn't even scratch the surface. But I tried. 

What will the next two decades bring? Who knows. Nowdays, I must move much faster just to stay in one place and still dodge the torrent of lies by emotionally arrested crybabies who were apparently taught that any criticism is defamatory, negative reviews are "false" reviews, the emotions of a vet take precedence over the health and well being of a pet, and the bruised egos of spiteful, malicious and entitled liars are reason enough to do whatever needed to inflict as much pain, grief and loss as they deem necessary. And it's still not enough to satisfy these bottomless bins of trash disguised as humans and "doctors."


Along with the wholesale abuse of public trust on a massive scale by deliberately manipulating suicide statistics to mislead people into believing that vets are killing themselves bigger, better, faster and more often than any other profession, BadVets are now on a quest to make their own clients responsible for the mental health of these overgrown brats who are so very valuable, fragile and special that any criticism (now rebranded as bullying) could drive them to kill themselves and it will never be their fault because nothing ever is--not even their own suicides.

Meanwhile, as the narcissists, babies, whiners and criers console one another over their "plight," the unending loss of pet life at the hands of soulless monsters continues, and a hopelessly out-of-date profession scrambles to maintain its toxic control over a public that just wants their animals treated ethically and humanely without having to make sure that their vets are happy and getting extra plates of ego pellets at Christmas. 

There is no doubt that the ability of vet victims to communicate with one another and the public is the BadVet's worst nightmare. Good. No sympathy here. Now it's their turn to commiserate with one another and their "professional" organizations about how to regain control of an archaic world that is gone forever and they are just too stupid to recognize it. How ironic that these brilliant scientists and "doctors" apparently are completely unaware of the basic tenet of evolution: Adapt or die. 

Maybe the poor dears thought that didn't apply to them, you know, what with being so special and all. 

Thank you to everyone who has been such an incredible source of support, to me, to one another, and to a cause that we all hope brings an end to the suffering of innocent pets at the hands of BadVets.  

The story continues...

--Julie Catalano and Angel Suki

April 26, 2019

 

 

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

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.

Is This the Worst Vet of 2013? Shirley Sara Koshi of Gentle Hands Veterinary Strikes Back with Bizarre Version Regarding Her "Theft" of Karl the Cat, Claims She Has "Sold Karl"

UPDATE: During the open NYS Board investigation and the pending lawsuit in the NYC courts, and reportedly uncooperative in both, Shirley Koshi committed suicide in her home in 2014. Karl was found safe and later taken with other cats to an NYC shelter. Karl was retrieved by Gwen Jurmark and placed in the forever home of a concerned advocate. Another cat was retrieved about a week later from the vet's locked clinic, weak and dehydrated but otherwise okay. 

After Koshi's death, a cybermob led by a longtime troubled vet with behind-the-scenes help from her friends and professional veterinary organizations began a years-long campaign of continuous attacks, stalking, and threats against citizen advocates, blaming us for "cyberbullying to death" an adult medical professional, licensee of the state, and keeper of public health and trust. This vet-led mob is made up of the same people who never uttered one word in Koshi's defense while she was alive, instead using her death to promote intimidation against anyone who dares to speak out against veterinary misconduct. They will not succeed.

According to Shirley Sara (or Sara Shirley) Koshi (or Koshy, if you go by her family spelling), Karl the Cat has been sold.

Dr. Shirley Sara/Shirley Sara Koshi/Koshy told the court at a preliminary hearing in December that she SOLD KARL to his new owner. This is a woman who has had veterinary licenses in five states and by her own admission has worked in about 30 different animal hospitals over her “career.” She just opened her hole-in-the-wall storefront on Johnson Avenue in July of 2013 and a mere one month later she had already taken Karl. Just the type of stable individual that we should all look to as a paradigm of veterinary virtue (NOT!) to make life and death decisions about animals. 

I just have two words for this creepazoid vet who allegedly stole a client's cat on the apparent basis that she 1) either doesn't have the capacity to understand how cat colonies and caretakers work, or 2) doesn't LIKE the idea of cat colonies and caretakers and has appointed herself the queen and ruler of the animal kingdom and simply took Karl as her own, which the evidence and the timeline--which Koshi has conveniently ignored in her various versions of what “really” happened—seem to support. In short, Koshi doesn't really give a damn about what happens to animals who are taken out of their usual surroundings—whether she personally approves of those surroundings or not. And that goes double for colony cats. 

What Happened to Karl the Cat? Only Dr. Shirley Sara Koshi, Gentle Hands Veterinarian NYC Knows; Owner Files Suit to Get Karl Back

First Amendment in action! Protesters call for the
return of Karl the Cat from Shirley Sara Koshi, DVM,
owner of Gentle Hands Veterinarian, New York City,
who "appropriated" Karl in August and refuses to
return him to owner Gwen Jurmark (center, standing).

UPDATE: During the open NYS Board investigation and the pending lawsuit in the NYC courts, and reportedly uncooperative in both, Shirley Koshi committed suicide in her home in 2014. Karl was found safe and later taken with other cats to an NYC shelter. Karl was retrieved by Gwen Jurmark and placed in the forever home of a concerned advocate. Another cat was retrieved about a week later from the vet's locked clinic, weak and dehydrated but otherwise okay. 

After Koshi's death, a cybermob led by a longtime troubled vet with behind-the-scenes help from her friends and professional veterinary organizations began a years-long campaign of continuous attacks, stalking, and threats against citizen advocates, blaming us for "cyberbullying to death" an adult medical professional, licensee of the state, and keeper of public health and trust. This vet-led mob is made up of the same people who never uttered one word in Koshi's defense while she was alive, instead using her death to promote intimidation against anyone who dares to speak out against veterinary misconduct. They will not succeed.

Re: Case Index Number CV-015676-13/BX

Civil Court of the City of New York

Gwen Jurmark, Plaintiff vs. Dr. Shirley Koshi; Gentle Hands Veterinarian at Riverdale, P.C., Defendant(s)

When you've reported on BadVets as long as I have, you think you've heard every bizarro vet story there is. Every inane, inexcusable, indefensible tale of an arrogant, egotistical, off-the-rails and over-the-cliff veterinarian doing something that he or she is just not supposed to do. You would think you'd have heard it all by now. And you would be wrong. 

The story of Karl the Tuxedo Cat of Yonkers, New York is a sad and scary one, and every pet owner/guardian needs to listen up, because this could happen to you.

It is your worst nightmare: a vet decides, for no apparent reason (except hearsay and so far undocumented and unverifiable allegations of owner hoarding, disease, and abandonment of animals in public parks, none of which would give a vet the automatic right to keep someone's pet anyway) and without benefit of going through proper procedural channels set up by the New York State Office of the Professions to enforce the statutes of the New York State Veterinary Practice Act—a veterinarian, acting entirely on her own with no authority from anybody, decides to just...keep...your...pet

You heard right. You go to a vet's clinic at the end of the vet's prescribed “treatment plan,” with a fistful of money (we're talking close to $2000) to reclaim your pet, and the vet refuses to deal with you, does not “accept” your proof of ownership in the form of previous vet records, refuses payment, tells you to come back later, and/or calls the police on you. Not only that – four days into a 10-day hospitalization, the vet changes your pet's name and parades him all over her Facebook page as the newest member of her family. At some point, she reportedly microchips your pet with her own information (still waiting for verification on this), meanwhile calling the police and keeping you physically out of her clinic with one allegation or another.

All of the above and more happened to Karl the Cat and his owner/guardian, Gwen Jurmark, who is pictured above in her November 9, 2013 protest of Shirlay Sara Koshi, DVM, Gentle Hands Veterinarian at Riverdale to free Karl and let him come home.