Houston veterinarian Kenneth Beasley has three Standard of Care violations on his record. And to read the details is chilling.
On or about May 30, 1997, Kenneth V. Beasley, D.V.M., was presented with “Sandy” a five year old male Dachshund mix, at the Camden Veterinary clinic in Houston, Texas . . . [the owner] presented “Sandy” because the dog was not feeling well and had problems walking.
On or about the same day, Dr. Beasley examined “Sandy” and made a diagnosis of a heartworm infection and congestive heart failure. Dr. Beasley did not test for heartworms.
On or about the same day, [the owner] told Dr. Beasley that she would like to take the dog to her regular veterinarian for a second opinion and then temporarily left the examination room.
On or about that same day and upon [the owner’s] return to the examination room and shortly thereafter, Dr. Beasley told Ms. Estrada that he had given “Sandy” an injection of Ivermectin to treat the heartworm infection. The patient record of “Sandy” records a .1 cc injection of Ivomec. [The owner] did not agree to this treatment prior to its administration by Dr. Beasley. Sandy’s heart condition may have existed before the injection of Ivomec.”
[What the heck is that last statement supposed to mean? Ummm, whatever. Wait till you
hear the conclusion of the necropsy . . . oh, yeah, the dog dies.]
“On or about that same day, Dr. Beasley prescribed and dispensed Ivomec to [the owner] for the continued treatment of “Sandy’s” heartworm infection.
“ . . . Sandy began vomiting after being returned home. [The owner] subsequently presented “Sandy” to Charles Evens, D.V.M. and explained the treatment prescribed by Dr. Beasley. Dr. Evan’s examination of “Sandy” revealed a severe heart murmur, mild dehydration, anemia, and a heartworm infection. The dog was treated for the dehydration and anemia.”
“On or about June 1, 1997, “Sandy’s” condition continued to deteriorate and he was presented to David Wainwright, D.V.M., VCA Spring Branch Animal Hospital, Houston, Texas, as an emergency patient. The dog was presented with a history of red tinged urine. Dr. Wainwright’s examination revealed moderately severe dehydration, and mucus membrane pallor. A packed cell volume was completed (16%) to determine the extent of anemia. Dr. Wainwright administered subcutaneous fluids, Reglan, Cimetidine, and Prednisone. Doxycline was dispensed for home administration. A blood transfusion and hospitalization were recommended.
“On or about June 2, 1997, “Sandy” was examined by Tom Dayton, D.V.M., at Parker Road Animal Hospital, Houston, Texas. Dr. Dayton’s examination revealed a temperature of 100 degrees, grade IV heart murmur, pale mucus membranes and congested lungs. During treatment by Dr. Dayton, “Sandy” began having seizures and died.
“ . . . a necropsy was performed by Dr. Dayton and revealed the following: A visible lesion confined to the chest cavity, with heartworms in the pre and post vena cava, right ventricle and right article. All arteries of the lungs were impacted with heartworms. Dr. Dayton determined the cause of death to be an immediate kill of adult heartworms causing them to block the right aorta and arteries causing congestion in the lung tissue and high blood pressure with death.
“The product monographs for the various Ivomec injectables states that these medicines should not be used to treat dogs, and that such treatment may result in fatality.”
You’d think Beasley would be more careful with that drug after his previous run in with the vet board just a few years earlier, which also involved this same drug. But apparently not.
A few years earlier, the following occurred:
An owner “took his male collie ‘Laddie’ to the Camden Veterinary Clinic, operated by Kenneth V. Beasley, D.V.M., for yearly vaccinations and a heartworm check.
‘Laddie’ tested microfilaria [heartworm] positive. Dr. Beasley did not vaccinate ‘Laddie’ at that time but opted to treat for heartworms.
“Dr. Beasley administered one injection of ½ cc of Ivomec (ivermectin 1%) mixed with 2 cc of Albon with B12. Dr. Beasley dispensed to the owner 3 cc of Ivomec mixed with 2 ounces of Vi-Sorbin, to be given to ‘Laddie’ one dropper full, once a day for a month.
“The label attached to the medication dispensed . . . did not include the name, address and telephone number of the clinic, the dispensing veterinarian’s name, the client name, the quantity and strength of the product and precautionary statements, as required by Rule of Professional Conduct . . . By failing to properly label the medication . . . Dr. Ware violated Rule of Professional Conduct 573.40.
“By administering ½ cc Ivomec, equivalent to 5,000 ug, to ‘Laddie’ without weighing him, Dr. Beasley exceeded the 200 ug/kg toxic range for a collie weighing 22 kilograms. The medication was sufficient to cause toxicity in an ivermectin sensitive dog. Dr. Beasley also failed to advise his client to observe the collie closely for at least 8 hours after treatment because of the sensitivity of collies to ivermectin. This activity violated Rule 573.22, Standard of Humane Treatment.”
So are you guessing the same thing that I am guessing? That Laddie died too?
But we’re not done yet with the record of Dr. Beasley.
Because this still wasn’t Dr. Beasley’s first very sad and shocking violation.
In 1992 an owner brought his seven month old Chow mix, “Lady” to Beasley.
Lady couldn’t walk, and “She passed considerable amounts of bloody fecal material. Dr. Beasley diagnosed the dog with parvo and suggested euthanasia.”
“Dr. Beasley’s patient records reflect he administered an unknown amount of Benselmin wormer with Vi-Sorbin, orally; an unknown amount of Vitamin B12, Vitamin K, and Atropine. Dr. Beasley also dispensed 20 250 mg Ampicillin capsules. The patient records do not include dosages of medications administered and details necessary to substantiate diagnosis . . . Although Dr. Beasley instructed [the owner] to give “Lady” a mixture of 3-4 ounces of ½ Gatorade and honey every hour or so as often as possible, until the dog started eating, he failed to treat “Lady” for parvo with the same skill, care and diligence that would have been performed by the average veterinarian under same or similar circumstances. In particular, Dr. Beasley failed to give an adequate volume of parenteral fluids."
“The label on the container of Ampicillin dispensed by Dr. Beasley to [the owner] contained the following information only: “Lady, 1 capsule twice daily.” The label did not contain name and address of veterinarian; the client’s name; species; name, strength and quantity of drug dispensed.
“The activities described . . . violated Rule 583.22, Professional Standard of Humane Treatment, and Rule 573.22, Patient Record Keeping . . . “
For informaton on how parvo really should be treated, here are some resources:
Veterinary Partner.com re: Parvo
One woman's story about saving her parvo pup
Animal Health Channel on Parvo
Collies -- a breed susceptible to Ivermectin reactions
More ivermectin info
"Don't use Ivomec as heartworm preventative for dogs"
Marvistavet -- includes notice on dangerous use of Ivomec in dogs (Ivomec is for larger animals like farm animals)
