Veterinarians who Sexually Abuse Children, Installment #1: Washington State Veterinarian Jack Hyder aka Johannes Krieger

Think all vets have invisible halos floating over their heads? THINK AGAIN.

Jack Hyder, who previously went by the name Johannes Heiter-Krieger, was previously a veterinarian at the Scappoose Veterinary Clinic in Washington. And now he is a convicted child molester who has been sentenced to 10 years in the Washington State Penitentiary. Whose child did he molest? HIS OWN DAUGHTER. In addition to child molestation he was found guilty of "second degree" incest.

So, this guy screwed his own daughter?? Molestation + incest seems to add up to that. Rape charges against him were dropped. So how is it that this guy had incestuous relations with his minor daughter but wasn't charged with rape?

According to published press reports, Hyder, who was found guilty in November 2007 and sentenced in January, "the jury determined that Hyder had abused a position of trust to orchestrate the sexual abuse against his daughter."

Abusing a position of trust -- something so very many veterinarians do, but probably few in this particular way.

The January 2008 article said that "the abuse started against the oldest daughter, who is now 22 years old, in 1994 when the family was living in Ocean Shores, Wash."

OK, that means he started this when she was . . . 8 or 9.

Not that this alone isn't horrible enough -- but if he is doing this kind of thing to his own daughters, how do you think he is probably treating animals when no one is watching? A man so willing to victimize those who trust him, so willing to exploit the weaker and dependent, willing to -- in the words of the jury -- abuse his position of trust . . . ???? For obviously very selfish reasons?

Based on surveys of pet owners and the public, veterinarians continue to enjoy a very high reputation for honesty among the professions. Is is deserved? No, I don't think so -- I think this public perception is the result of the erroneous assumption, fed by the media, children's stories, and propaganda from the profession itself -- that vets are all kindly animal lovers. This blog will primarily feature stories about how vets have failed to merit that inflated perception in terms of their treatment of our pets. However, because it is so important that we -- the pet owning and pet loving public -- realize that vets are NOT all what we believe them to be -- I will also feature stories about vets who are BAD in other ways. Like this one.

But certainly, if he was willing to victimize his own daughter, what might he have done to his clients pets?

Links:

http://www.spotlightnews.net/news/story.php?story_id=120007392094747400
http://www.localnewsdaily.com/news/story.php?story_id=119559547083776400

Lucy Lu the Dog Dies Months After Questionable Treatment of her Symptoms with "Extremely High . . . Improper" Dose of Antibiotics

In Nevada, an owner brought her dog Lucy Lu in to see veterinarian Benjamin Davis. You see, Lucy Lu was now showing the same symptoms that the owners other dog, Squeakee, had been showing: bloody stools.

Without doing any diagnostic tests -- no blood work, no urinalaysis, no fecal culture -- Dr. Davis gave the owner a prescription for the antibiotic "metronidazole," otherwise known as Flagyl. This was the drug he had already been giving to Squeakee. The Board document says:

Davis "increased [Squeakee's] dose and started Lucy on an extremely high dose without scheduled rechecks or communication to the owner advising them of possible side affects to the high dose that was given."

What side effects is the Nevada Board talking about?

Well, an article in DVM News Magazine explains that metronidazole can cause neurological toxicity at high doses:

"Adverse effects in dogs and cats include neurologic disorders, lethargy, weakness, neutropenia, hepatotoxicity, hematuria, anorexia, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Neurotoxic effects include encephalopathy, cerebellovestibular signs and periopheral neuropathy. Neurotoxicity following prolonged therapy is most often related to cumulative dose and duration of treatment. Most canines who develop neurologic signs secondary to metronidazole administration have received weeks to months of therapy, but toxicity after short-term therapy at relatively low dosages

(http://www.dvmnews.com/dvm/News/Metronidazole-Uses-toxicity-and-management-of-neur/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/113198

About 2 weeks after Davidson started Lucy Lu on this drug, her owners had to rush her to an emergency veterinary hospital with neurological symptoms. "She was treated and released the following morning with the presumed diagnosis of Flagyl neurologic toxicity with recovery being uneventful."

Yet, six months later, Lucy Lu was again rushed to an emergency vet for "vomiting, bloody diarrhea, lethargy, and anorexia." The next day, she died.

I have many questions about why this happened to Lucy Lu.

One thing I notice is the hepatotoxicity of metronidazole as cited in the DVM News article -- toxicity to the liver.

But the other thing I notice is that:

a) Lucy Lu's symptoms (bloody diarrhea) were the same as that of her canine companion. This might have indicated a communicable disease.

b) The thing that comes up most prominently when you search "bloody diarrhea", either by itself or combined with the other symptoms Lucy had -- "vomiting, lethargy, and anorexia -- is parvovirus, a highly contagious disease.

The Board found that Davidson's conduct in his treatment of Lucy Lu constituted "incompetence , in that [he] administered an improper dose of metronidazole based on a physical examinationa and the medical history of another family pet. Dr. Davidson did not recommend any further diagnostics, schedule any follow-up, or advise the cliet of any side effects of the drug."

So, did Lucy Lu get a drug that not only caused her horrible side effects, but also wasn't treating what was really wrong with her? Did Lucy die of something related to the "hepatotoxicity" of this drug she was given at "extremely high . . . improper" doses?

Or did she die of a disease like parvovirus, that she might have survived had she been appropriately treated?

I don't know the answer to those questions -- but I do know that it seems Dr. Davidson did her more harm than good.

R.I.P., Lucy Lu.

More Spay Deaths -- Texas Vet Stanley Wolfe

In 2005, the Texas Veterinary Board adopted findings of fact in a case against Texas Veterinarian Stanley Wolfe, which included the following:

"On August 19, 2003, [an owner] of Wylie, Texas presentd the patient, his two and a half year-old pregnancy cat, "Itty Bitty Kitty," to the Parker Road Veterinary Clinic in Wylie, Texas for an ovariohysterectomy . . . [Wolfe] performed the surgery on the patient."

". . . During surgery, [Wolfe] placed several gauze pads in the incision to keep the intestine in the peritoneal cavity during exteriorization of the uterus."

"During the surgery, life-threatening complications arose, including a drop in oxygen saturation, apnea, hemorrhaging, a drop in body temperature, and severe bradycardia. [Wolfe] closed the incision, and the patient was placed on an electric heating pad following surgery."

"The patient died around 6:00 p.m., four to five hours after the surgical procedure ."

[OK, here comes the rub:]

"During and following surgery, [Wolfe] failed to catheterize the patient, to provide intravenous fluid therapy, or to provide any other method of delivering fluids to the patient. Such fluid therapy was essential to maintain the patient's blood pressure and to prevent shock when the hemorraging occurred."

Wolfe's "records do not mention catheterization attempts and do not state the reasons for [his] failure to initiate fluid therapy during or after surgery."

Wolfe "left two gauze pads in the area of the patient's left kidney and ovary."

The outcome of this shocking tale is that the Texas Board issued a "formal reprimand" to Wolfe and fined him $1,000. Is that enough?

Poor itty bitty kitty. R.I.P.