The Board has little, if any, control over the accuracy of information disseminated by the news media. For example, a few months ago, a reporter from KPIX in the San Francisco Bay area, distorted the facts in his newscast, in order to create a sensational, attention-grabbing story. The positive is that the story reached a large number of people who may not have known that the Board exists. The negative is that the story incorrectly portrayed the Board as a bureaucracy that did nothing against a veterinarian who was found to be guilty of negligence and animal cruelty. The truth was that the Board had revoked the veterinarian s license, then stayed the revocation and required five years probation with specific probationary terms and conditions.
Professionals are human.
Mistakes can be made. Euthanasia is one of the most difficult decisions a veterinarian has to make, especially since veterinarians take an oath to ease pain and suffering and save animals lives. In this case, the veterinarian had no prior discipline and the need for euthanasia was substantiated. The veterinarian made a mistake and is paying for that mistake. The news reporter s inflammatory distortion of the facts in this case was uncalled-for and undeserved.