The complainant says they took their dog to Gonzales for a neuter procedure in the
morning. The dog was discharged in mid-afternoon and didn't seem right at all;
Gonzales said that it was just the anesthesia. The dog smelled of anesthesia and
couldn't walk, so they wiped the dog down to try and get rid of the smell. We're
told the dog died only a couple of hours after getting home. Gonzales attempted
to blame the death on an undiagnosed heart condition, but the complainant relates
the dog's breeder will attest that the dog was quite healthy with no heart problems.
Gonzales' response is rather to the point, stating that the dog was brought in
and the procedure was performed uneventfully. He says that the recovery was also
normal and the dog was no different than any other surgical patient. He received
a call that evening saying that the dog had died; he expressed his sorrow and
suggested that a heart problem or a clot could be the underlying cause.
The Investigative Committee came down rather hard on this one. They found violations
regarding recording of medications, lack of discharge instructions, and the dog
being discharged without being fully awake. They also said that the dog was under
anesthesia for 40 minutes prior to surgery, that it's weird that a heart problem
was suggested because the dog didn't have one when he listened to the dog, that no
blood work was performed. Concerns were also raised about not offering a necropsy.
They found several violations ranging from gross negligence to medical records
omissions.
This case also stands out because many of the arguments made against Gonzales are
often flipped in other cases to avoid finding a violation. Other pets have dropped
dead due to alleged undiagnosed heart problems and investigators just say that you
don't always know they have one. Pets have also been discharged in questionable
conditions only to go home and drop dead, and oftentimes we're told that these things
just happen. Read through our hundreds of complaints and you'll find that same
reasoning in more than a few. Consider a recent case in 22-84
and 22-85 where a dog was kept under anesthesia for six hours
for a dental and then died; nobody really cared. Why Gonzales stands out is an open
question. In any event, the Board rounded it down and assigned him six hours of coursework.
ARS § 32-2232 (11) Gross negligence; for discharging the dog in an unstable condition - the dog's surgery ended at 9:52am and the dog was discharged at 3:30pm - still not recovered from anesthesia, which contributed to the death of the dog at 6:00pm that evening
ARS § 32-2232 (12) as it relates to AAC R3-11-501 (1) failure to provide courteous verbal interchange with the pet owner by not offering a necropsy on the dog
ARS § 32-2232 (18) as it relates to AAC R3-11-502 (E) failure to provide complete discharge instructions of a surgical patient and not documenting in the medical record that discharge instructions were provided
ARS § 32-2232 (21) as it relates to AAC R3-11-502 (L) (7) (a) failure to document in the medical record the concentration of pen G, ketamine, butorphanol and xylazine that were administered to the dog.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (11) Gross negligence; for discharging the dog in an unstable condition — the dog's surgery ended at 9:52am and fhe dog was discharged at 3:30pm — still not recovered from anesthesia, which contributed to the death of the dog at 6:00pm that evening.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (18) as it relates fo A.A.C. R3-11-502 (E) failure to provide complete discharge instructions of a surgical patient and not documenting in the medical record that discharge instructions were provided.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (21) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (L) (7) (a) failure to document in the medical record the concentration of pen G, ketamine, butorphanol and xylazine that were administered to the dog.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (18) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (E) failure to provide complete discharge instructions of a surgical patient and not documenting in the medical record that discharge instructions were provided.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (21) as it relates to A.A.C. R3-11-502 (L) (7) (a) failure to document in the medical record the concentration of pen G, ketamine, butorphanol and xylazine that were administered to the dog.
Penalties:
Probation (1 year)
Continuing education (3 hours in anesthesia)
Continuing education (3 hours in medical record keeping)
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical
Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant
links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board
actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also
been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information
will be included here.