Today's vet is from Virginia.
Virginia vet Gregory T. Wood, who was "Veterinarian-in-Charge" at Salem Veterinary Hospital in Virginia Beach, Va, was the subject of a Veterinary Board order issued on January 24th, 2006.
The "Findings of Fact" in this order said:
"Staff members report that he is verbally abusive, and, by his own admission, he loses his temper at work."
It further states:
"His technique of injection into the brain is an unnacceptable euthanasia method."
?????!!!!
This was not Wood's first recorded disciplinary action by the State Board. It was the third, the prior two being:
-- a Continuing Education violation in 1999
-- a violation for failure to maintain proper records in 1997
Commentary:
I am just left to wonder if his anger management issues have any direct relationship to his chosen method of euthanasia, which apparently involves shoving needles into pets brains.
These Findings of Fact contain little detail regarding the source of the complaint and other circumstances surrounding the complaint that led to discipline. In both the case in 2006 and in 1997, my guess is that the original allegations were very disturbing. How would it come to the Board's attention that this vet was giving shots into the brain to euthanize patients? What is the story of those patients and what did they endure. As for the 1997 recordkeeping violation case, my review of "record keeping violations" in OTHER cases has demonstrated that when recordkeeping violations are found, more disturbing allegations regarding patient care were in the original complaint.
We will never have more insight into the details of these cases, because complaints are not public in Virginia, as in most states, and there is very little detail in the Board's findings of fact.
