The Bad Vet Daily: Arrest

Monday, March 29, 2010

Florida Veterinarian Margaret Fowler Charged with Felony Animal Cruelty in Beating Death of Cat

A Florida woman says that on March 1, 2010 she stepped outside her front door to see a horrifying sight: her own neighbor repeatedly hitting a cat with a blunt object that looked like a rubber mallet with a wooden handle. Then, the witness said she saw this neighbor pick up the cat by the tail, carry it to the fence, and drop it over. It was then, the witness claims, that she walked over to the cat and saw that it was her own live-in boyfriend's cat.

These events would be horrific enough, no matter who perpetrated them. They are all the more chilling because the alleged perpetrator is veterinarian Margaret Fowler, who runs an "acupuncture and holistic" veterinary service from her home.

According to the Sheriff's office report, a necropsy performed on the cat showed the cause of death to have been "exsanguination" -- the cat bled to death -- after suffering blunt force trauma to the head and abdomen.

Fowler was arrested and charged with Felony Animal Cruelty.

This article seems to include a picture which looks like a mug shot.

Is it just me, or is this woman smiling?

Is she smiling because she knows that no matter what they do, vets almost always walk away with little or no punishment from any legal or regulatory agency?

Article -- WMBB.com news.

Link: Local Vet Charged with Cruelty to Animals

Monday, August 4, 2008

Florida Vet Arrested for Animal Cruelty and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon

Southside Animal Clinic Veterinarian John Farah was arrested in Callahan Florida and charged with animal cruelty and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill, after he shot a dog.

When he shot the dog, he was at the Crawford Hunting Club in Callahan -- engaging in the favorite pastime of those animal-loving vets -- Hunting! Looking forward to shooting and killin him some animals, no doubt.

Teresa Wingate was out walking her dog CoCo, in an area near her home, adjacent to the Club grounds. Unfortunately, CoCo wandered under the barbed wire fence surrounding the club, and the dog was shot. The woman (owner) began screaming, and her husband heard her and came out.

Farah then appraoched them, with his shotgun.

According to the Times-Union, Keith Wingate (the husband) told investigators that he felt threatened because Farah became "irate and held the rifle in a way that pointed at him."

Confronting the dog owners, Farah denied shooting the dog. But according to the FirstCoastNews Article, "the sheriff's department determined he was the shooter."

So, I guess that also makes him dishonest, right?

Hmmm. A vet who likes killing animals and who doesn't tell the truth. Doesn't sound like someone you ever want to take your pets to, does it?

Links:

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012308/met_239063826.shtml

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=100546

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I suggest a vet for you to feature on this blog? Yes. However, for my own legal protection I can only write about veterinarians for whom there is "public record." That means that either there must be one or more: Veterinary Board action, court case/records, public police record, or news story about the vet. Everything on this blog is either a recitation of public record or my personal opinion based on public records. I cannot print your opinion or your version of events. If there is no public record related to a veterinarian, I cannot blog about them. However, that doesn't prevent you from doing so, and I encourage you to tell your story.

Why don't you print comments on this blog? You would not believe the hateful, hurtful remarks that veterinarians and their "fans" post about grieving pet owners and dead pets, even when public record shows them to be at fault in actions surrounding the injury or death of a pet. I will not provide a forum for attacks on victims. This characterizes the majority of comments I got when I did allow them. I feel that it is best that I not allow comments either from victims or veterinarians. I want to make it clear: This blog presents public record and MY opinions based on public record. Period.

Will you revise or remove blogs about a vet if we send you more information or tell you how wonderful the vet is and why the "public record" does not reflect the true character of the vet? Probably not. I won't say "never" -- I did revise a blog ONCE in light of a very impassioned email I received from a rescue group about a vet. I did not, however, remove the blog. Out of deference to a rescue's heartfelt email, I chose to "tone down" the blog post voluntarily and remove references to items which were in the public record, but which were of a highly personal nature. But for the most part, no, I don't/won't do this. The public record, and my opinion based on it, stands.

If you have public record that is more recent, that sheds further light on events described in a blog post (for example, if a vet subsequently appealed a board decision and had it reversed or modified, but this is not mentioned in the post) then I would be happy to receive that information and will likely add an update to the bottom of the post to reflect it.

The Bad Vet Daily Goes Weekly . . . Monthly, etc.

Yes, regular readers: I'm sure you've noticed. I haven't been able to do this blog daily. Why? Is it because there aren't enough bad vets to fill 365 days a year?

Unfortunately, NO, that's not the reason, and YES, there are more than enough bad vets to fill 365 days a year.

It is because each of these posts has taken me no less than 1 1/2 hours, and sometimes, up to 4 hours. This includes identifying a case, researching readily available information on the vet's violations, and then doing a search to see if I can figure out where the vet is now.

Therefore, with pets to tend to and a job to keep, I bow to the suggestion of friends that I admit to myself this is just going to need to be a more occasional.

But in return . . . I promise to feature at LEAST 365 vets over the life of this blog.

Thank you for caring about your pets.

About State Veterinary Boards

Although most of the stories told here will be taken from State Veterinary Board disciplinary files -- don't let this lull you into thinking that Veterinary Boards are doing a good job of pursuing cases of veterinary negligence and malpractice or of protecting your pets. In fact, in many states, 90% of consumer complaints filed against vets are dismissed without action. Equally shocking -- when the vet board actually do something, it's very little. Small fines. "Stayed" suspensions where the vet loses not ONE day of work. No matter how egregious the vets behavior, no matter how long the record and how many dead pets, these vets almost never have their licenses taken away.

With a couple of exceptions, you could be going to any of the bad vets featured on this blog right now. Moreover, your vet may have a long history of consumer complaints, and yet the board may never have disciplined him.

Bad vets continue to be a problem because veterinary medicine is virtually unregulated, with negligent practitioners being allowed to continue to pry their trades as more victims are lured in the door.

Why 365 Days of Bad Vets?

The biggest threat to our pets is our own naiivete.

In spite of numerous reports of malpractice and worse, veterinarians continue to enjoy one of the highest ratings for "honesty" among all professions. They are universally -- and blindly trusted. Those of us who have learned the hard way that blind trust is dangerous for our pets are struggling to break through to the consciousness of our fellow loving pet owners, to inspire some healthy skepticism, before they and their pets too fall victim.

If reading this blog gets one pet owner to admit the thought into their minds that maybe -- just maybe -- they shouldn't blindly trust their vet, it will have been worth it. We need to become proactive in evaluating vets and their care, not waiting for a tragedy. We need to ask questions like: "Who will be there overnight? What are his credentials? Let me speak with him," or, "What are my pet's kidney values, and what are the potential side effects of that drug?"

We shouldn't need to do these things but we do because
. . .well, because there are so many bad vets.

Disclaimer

The use of the word "bad" on this site does not necessarily mean that the veterinarians featured here are incompetent or negligent, etc. It may mean they have bad hair, it may simply mean I don't like them.

All of the blog posts here will draw on public record, especially veterinary board documents, for content. In addition, I will comment on that content. All of my comments should be understood by the reader to be my opinions and my opinions only. Readers are not only invited, but encouraged, to use their discernment in making decisions about vets.

The Bad Vet Daily