| Complaint: | Complaint 22-52 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Timothy Overbey |
| Premises: | Duval Animal Hospital |
The complainant states that her cat was always seen by Overbey and that she always paid her bills on time. It appears the complainant had a long history with the clinic, with Overby providing better care and concern for the cat's eye cancer and removal than did the local Eye Care for Animals (which, it must be said, was named in a complaint where a co-founder allegedly snapped and strangled a dog in 20-15).
She laments that Overbey and his clinic didn't care at all when her cat was dying; she states that all she wanted was some guidance on how to make his last week comfortable and received nothing. She even wrote him a letter after the fact that he never responded to. She concludes with a mention that she worked at St. Mary's Hospital ER for 11 years including through the coronavirus and that "[o]ur staff provides more compassionate care to strangers every day than we received from George's lifelong doctor."
The letter itself is an interesting read. It appears that at one point the cat's appetite seriously declined yet a staff member advised no appetite stimulants would be dispensed without buying some Hill's Science Diet to try first. She also called back in tears asking for guidance on how to manage the cat's final week and comfort him, but the staff member only replied that you never know when the cat will be ready for euthanasia; the staff member then listed some days that might be convenient for the clinic to put the cat down. She says that they did their best to comfort the cat all night without medication or guidance, taking the cat to an emergency with him crying all the way.
Overbey's response provides a background on the cat's eye removal and subsequent management of his kidney disease; most of the response is medical in nature, even going into detail regarding the cat's dental health, which was apparently pretty good. He also provides a somewhat different account regarding the appetite stimulant, stating that the complainant had not started the cat on the kidney diet as expected; he also states that he recommended an appetite stimulant. He states that he had no further contact with the owners until he received the letter from the complainant; he concludes that "she was apparently put off when she could not get in to see us right away and had to go to an emergency veterinarian" and that there's no record of her trying to get an appointment with him.
This case was written up by the Investigative Division, so there's no Investigative Committee discussion.
| Source: | January 1, 2022 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Nikki Frost |
| Seconded By: | Darren Wright |
| Roll Call: | |
| Craig Nausley | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Melissa Thompson | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
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.