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.

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

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