August 26, 2011
Case No. 11-186 Gary Brackeen, D.V.M.
Spanky Dunn
Dear Sirs,
Sometimes I believe that there are memories that are sparked from a “by chance” incident. Then there are memories that just come to you.
On these every day memories I think of Spanky. Everyday there are reminders of him from the screen saver on my computer, to the box with his ashes. From pulling up in the driveway and not hearing him bark to let him in the house, to looking at the stairs in my daughter’s room that were bought so Spanky could get on her bed.
While at the store grocery shopping on Monday, Spanky’s memory was ignited. I ran into Jessica (*formerly* from Dr. Brackeen’s office). She said that she had been fired on Friday July 1st. It dawned on me while we were talking that is the Friday after our hearing in Austin. This is just fascinating to me because my understanding was that Dr. Brackeen was told he could not fire his assistants for their participation in the investigation into Spanky’s death.
I have a few things that I would like to address with the Board…
I received a call from Laura Moriaty after the hearing and she wanted to know how much money I was out from Spanky’s death. I thought about it, and actually all that I have spent is the money for surgery. As I brought up in the hearing, Dr. Brackeen did not charge me for the after hour visit, and he did not charge me for the cremation of Spanky. Ms. Moriaty said that I would be getting this money back. I felt at that time that it was a nice gesture, but the more I thought about it the more it began to bother me.
I emailed her the next morning and explained that my complaint was not to get my money back but to ensure that Dr. Brackeen is not able to do the same thing to someone else… no more lying; no more negligence, no more making pet owners feel like they are bothering him when expressing concern about their pets. And, after what I found out in the investigation… no more practicing while self-medicating, no more incomplete patient records; no more guessing on the cause of death; no more failing to treat a patient; no more allowing veterinary technician to treat patients without supervision; no more pet owners hurt.
Ms. Moriaty called me and said that in was normal practice to have the doctor return the money. She said that it was one part of a five part punishment that Dr. Brackeen would be receiving. 1) Pay me back. 2) Post his name on the website for the public to view. 3) Continuing education. 4) Probation. 5) Fine of $500.00.
Probation? Just probation? I had hoped that Dr. Brackeen’s license would be pulled or at least suspended for some time as a result of the testimony I heard and thought the board was listening to. I had hoped during the time of a suspension Dr. Brackeen would be required to attend classes for continuing education. He would be trained on how to uphold the Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the AVMA. This man never expressed any remorse, or offered anything resembling an apology.
Dr. Brackeen has made many excuses, from the day that Spanky died, to the first letter that he sent to the board, to the day at the hearing when his basic response to all questions was to suggest Spanky was too fat. He has yet to answer why he said Spanky had cancer. All I have heard is excuses, and that’s all I heard him offer the board on the day of the hearing.
Here are some points from the hearing that stand out and scream, “PROBATION?”!!!
I would like to bring to your attention the obvious lies by Dr. Brackeen:
1. Lie: The clinic closes at 5:00.
Fact: One of the things Jessica said to me was that Doc came in and fired her at 6:00 ,
right before closing time on Friday.
2. Lie: Anchor Road Vet Clinic is one (1) of only three (3) clinics in our area that offer 24
hour service.
Fact: Dr. Brackeen turned me away at 4:00 am because he did not have help.
3. Lie: In Dr. Brackeen's letter he stated that his daughter had worked for him for many
years.
Fact: in the hearing Dr. Brackeen said that his daughter worked for other clinics.
4. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that I never returned to the clinic after the evening that he left so
abruptly while discussing Spanky's death with my daughters and I.
Fact: Actually I was back there two (2) more times. But, as I stated in the hearing the two
times I did go back to the clinic I did not want to see Dr. Brackeen.
5. Lie: Dr. Brackeen told me the knot was cancer.
Fact: in the hearing he said it was a fatty tumor and it was obvious by the way that it looked.
Dr. Brackeen even questioned one of the veterinarians on the board during the hearing and
stated how obvious it is to tell if a tumor is only fat. Was cancer just a lie to throw me off so I
would not question what the real cause of death was?
6. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that he was not taking prescription medicine the night I took Spanky
in after surgery.
Fact: Dr. Brackeen said that he wanted me to bring Spanky in early so he could take his
prescriptions before he went to bed the night that I took Spanky in after surgery.
7. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that I screamed at him when he had mistaken Spanky for a
female.
Fact: I would never talk in that manner and I am sure anyone that knows me could tell you the
same. I am not a confrontational person.
8. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that the reason he called Spanky a female was because he was so
fat he could not see his "little weenie".
Fact: Yes, Spanky was overweight, but in no means did he have rolls that would keep
someone from being able to tell that he was a boy. I wonder if Dr. Brackeen’s concerns
about Spanky’s weight were noted in Spanky’s records?
Other concerns that I have:
How could anyone believe that Dr. Brackeen could remember taking Spanky’s temperature and it was 99.6F? How he could remember that additional antibiotics were administered when he could not even remember the day of the week that Spanky died on? A more acute example of Dr. Brackeen’s memory is the question regarding the medication used to sedate animals for surgery. This is something that is in Dr. Brackeen’s clinic and seen daily by him - and he could not even remember the three (3) medications that are used by him during every surgery on every animal. Yet, Dr. Brackeen expected me and the board to believe the he remembered Spanky’s temperature? Jessica said that they (her and Desiree) had to pull the charts and remind Dr. Brackeen who Spanky even was when my complaint first arrived at the Anchor Road Vet Clinic (ARC).
When speaking with Jessica, she said that even after the investigator came to the clinic, Dr. Brackeen continued with all the same procedures in the clinic and did not change anything. She was shocked that Dr. Brackeen did not seem to realize the seriousness of the charges.
This reminds me of exactly what I have been saying about Dr. Brackeen in all of my letters: Not getting off the couch to help Spanky; not touching Spanky when I brought him in the day after surgery; his careless and thoughtless words of “putting Spanky in the freezer”; him making a “joke” about Spanky having tons of blood and would not die anytime soon; Dr. Brackeen saying that the tumor was cancer when in the hearing he made it clear that it is obvious from the appearance if a tumor is just fatty tissue; and let us not forget that Dr. Brackeen did not even start writing his letter to the Board until *after* the required 21 days to respond.
Does Dr. Brackeen care about his practice, his patients, his license, his employees, or even the state board? Everything that I have learned and observed from this process is that Dr. Brackeen does not care. This makes me question, if only a fine was put in place for the 2006-07 infraction does Dr. Brackeen anticipate the same treatment from the board this time? Does he believe that everything will be forgotten, brushed aside, and he can go back to the same amateurish, poor excuse for professional procedures? Apparently the fine that was accessed in 2007 did not stop him from repeating the same violation in 2009 and 2010. Do I even need to emphasize that only two (2) years had past. I shake my head and wonder whose “Spanky” will be Dr. Brackeen’s next victim?
In Dr. Brackeen’s answer to my complaint letter he stated, “I feel sorrow for the family and hope with time their anger will heal” No, I was not angry in the beginning. Hurt? Yes. And I did question every action I took, but now I realize I did nothing wrong.
I will not allow Dr. Brackeen to pass the blame on to me, or use the pathetic excuse of Spanky being fat. The cause of Spanky’s death is a direct result of Dr. Brackeen and HIS incompetence, HIS malpractice, and HIS self-admitted substance abuse. And now that I have dealt with loosing a family member to this veterinarian’s negligence, I am angry. I am angry at HIS record of, and repeated negligence. I am angry because this is a licensee of the state, charged with upholding the humane and competent treatment of an animal, bound by the laws and statutes of his own profession, taking an oath to do no harm. And most of all, he in a position of PUBLIC TRUST that is granted and governed by this board.
When I left the hearing in Austin I felt relieved, I felt proud that I stood up for Spanky, and maybe saved another family’s beloved pet. I hear “probation” and it makes me wonder… what have I really accomplished during this process? My money back and Dr. Brackeen’s name on a webpage? What I really hoped would come from my efforts is the assurance that this does not happen anymore.
Besides Dr. Brackeen being required to complete some continuing education and refunding the “blood money” for Spanky, I was shocked that probation may be one of the only punishment handed down to him. How many people will have to go through the same loss and lies I have suffered at his hands before the Board takes real action against Dr. Brackeen? When will Dr. Brackeen realize that this type of behavior is unacceptable?
All this leaves me with this question…what would it take to have an unconcerned (shown in his care for record keeping and care of Spanky), incompetent (proven by his record of continuing education), drug addicted (noted by the boards investigator and admitted to by Dr. Brackeen) veterinarian lose or be suspended of his license?
Maybe a more appropriate question is how much worse does a Veterinarian have to behave to be punished to the extent that I and others would deem just?
Or, maybe the real question is am I asking the right people? Maybe it is time for me to tell this whole sad, surprising story elsewhere. Then perhaps something resembling governance would occur in the way of making sure Dr. Brackeen and others like him aren’t allowed to hurt pets and their owners in the way he has in my case.
Sincerely,
Nettie Dunn
Angleton, TX 77515
Case No. 11-186 Gary Brackeen, D.V.M.
Spanky Dunn
Dear Sirs,
Sometimes I believe that there are memories that are sparked from a “by chance” incident. Then there are memories that just come to you.
On these every day memories I think of Spanky. Everyday there are reminders of him from the screen saver on my computer, to the box with his ashes. From pulling up in the driveway and not hearing him bark to let him in the house, to looking at the stairs in my daughter’s room that were bought so Spanky could get on her bed.
While at the store grocery shopping on Monday, Spanky’s memory was ignited. I ran into Jessica (*formerly* from Dr. Brackeen’s office). She said that she had been fired on Friday July 1st. It dawned on me while we were talking that is the Friday after our hearing in Austin. This is just fascinating to me because my understanding was that Dr. Brackeen was told he could not fire his assistants for their participation in the investigation into Spanky’s death.
I have a few things that I would like to address with the Board…
I received a call from Laura Moriaty after the hearing and she wanted to know how much money I was out from Spanky’s death. I thought about it, and actually all that I have spent is the money for surgery. As I brought up in the hearing, Dr. Brackeen did not charge me for the after hour visit, and he did not charge me for the cremation of Spanky. Ms. Moriaty said that I would be getting this money back. I felt at that time that it was a nice gesture, but the more I thought about it the more it began to bother me.
I emailed her the next morning and explained that my complaint was not to get my money back but to ensure that Dr. Brackeen is not able to do the same thing to someone else… no more lying; no more negligence, no more making pet owners feel like they are bothering him when expressing concern about their pets. And, after what I found out in the investigation… no more practicing while self-medicating, no more incomplete patient records; no more guessing on the cause of death; no more failing to treat a patient; no more allowing veterinary technician to treat patients without supervision; no more pet owners hurt.
Ms. Moriaty called me and said that in was normal practice to have the doctor return the money. She said that it was one part of a five part punishment that Dr. Brackeen would be receiving. 1) Pay me back. 2) Post his name on the website for the public to view. 3) Continuing education. 4) Probation. 5) Fine of $500.00.
Probation? Just probation? I had hoped that Dr. Brackeen’s license would be pulled or at least suspended for some time as a result of the testimony I heard and thought the board was listening to. I had hoped during the time of a suspension Dr. Brackeen would be required to attend classes for continuing education. He would be trained on how to uphold the Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the AVMA. This man never expressed any remorse, or offered anything resembling an apology.
Dr. Brackeen has made many excuses, from the day that Spanky died, to the first letter that he sent to the board, to the day at the hearing when his basic response to all questions was to suggest Spanky was too fat. He has yet to answer why he said Spanky had cancer. All I have heard is excuses, and that’s all I heard him offer the board on the day of the hearing.
Here are some points from the hearing that stand out and scream, “PROBATION?”!!!
- The very first thing that Dr. Brackeen brought up in the meeting was proof of his continuing education for two years in the past. Dr. Brackeen said he did complete the required classes but never mailed in the certificates to the Board because he was afraid they would “get lost in the mail”. Please see the attached Docket Number 2007-06 for the same offense in 2004 and 2005. In 2004 his father died and in 2005 he lost the paperwork due to moving because of the hurricane. After he was fined for these reasons, the only thing Dr. Brackeen could come up with was that he was afraid it would “get lost in the mail” for my case??
- Dr. Brackeen did not even bring Spanky’s chart to the informal hearing with him. This makes me feel as if Spanky was insignificant or unimportant to Dr. Brackeen. He could not even “grab” his chart to bring it to an important meeting?
- The lady that was in charge of the meeting ask Dr. Brackeen to talk about what happened in Spanky’s case, Dr. Brackeen said “okay” and started talking about his drug use again.
- Dr. Brackeen could not remember the medication he used to sedate Spanky for surgery. After assistance with remembering the drugs, Dr. Brackeen again could not remember the medications. Within five (5) minutes he had forgotten them once more. Was it only obvious to me that the board went through this with Dr. Brackeen THREE (3) times?
- Dr. Brackeen was told at least once that they could not understand him because he was slurring his words.
- Dr. Brackeen said that he was a 24 hours clinic, but turned me away at 4:00 am and stated in the letter that his office closes at 5:00 pm.
- Dr. Brackeen changed the conversation from Spanky to asking why he could not get a particular medication anymore. Again how insignificant and unimportant are Mrs. Dunn and Spanky?
- Dr. Brackeen kept saying time after time in the hearing “I am tired”.
- Dr. Brackeen talked about how he would not know an illegal drug if it were in front of him and how he treated another animal for ingesting “legal” marijuana. How does this relate to my case?
- Dr. Brackeen said the reason he had mistaken Spanky for a female was because he was “so fat” he couldn’t see his little weenie.
- Dr. Brackeen never explained why I was told that Spanky had cancer.
- Dr. Brackeen said I “left” Spanky there all day. When he was the one that ask me to come by later that day to talk.
- Dr. Brackeen lied and said that I screamed at him when he had mistaken Spanky for a female.
- Dr. Brackeen said that he wanted me to bring Spanky in before it got too late on the evening of Jan 17th because he did not want to take his medication until after I had brought Spanky in. Then in the next sentence he said that he was not taking medication at that time. Then Dr. Brackeen said that he did not say either one of these statements and to “strike it”. All this was brought out with great detail during the hearing.
- To reemphasize #2, Dr. Brackeen did not even bring Spanky’s chart with him. I want to insert this between every comment on this list but I will only do it this one additional time. I know why I believe he didn’t bring any records relating to a hearing in front of the state board. Now unfortunately, I’m wondering why he didn’t think he needed to bring them.
I would like to bring to your attention the obvious lies by Dr. Brackeen:
1. Lie: The clinic closes at 5:00.
Fact: One of the things Jessica said to me was that Doc came in and fired her at 6:00 ,
right before closing time on Friday.
2. Lie: Anchor Road Vet Clinic is one (1) of only three (3) clinics in our area that offer 24
hour service.
Fact: Dr. Brackeen turned me away at 4:00 am because he did not have help.
3. Lie: In Dr. Brackeen's letter he stated that his daughter had worked for him for many
years.
Fact: in the hearing Dr. Brackeen said that his daughter worked for other clinics.
4. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that I never returned to the clinic after the evening that he left so
abruptly while discussing Spanky's death with my daughters and I.
Fact: Actually I was back there two (2) more times. But, as I stated in the hearing the two
times I did go back to the clinic I did not want to see Dr. Brackeen.
5. Lie: Dr. Brackeen told me the knot was cancer.
Fact: in the hearing he said it was a fatty tumor and it was obvious by the way that it looked.
Dr. Brackeen even questioned one of the veterinarians on the board during the hearing and
stated how obvious it is to tell if a tumor is only fat. Was cancer just a lie to throw me off so I
would not question what the real cause of death was?
6. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that he was not taking prescription medicine the night I took Spanky
in after surgery.
Fact: Dr. Brackeen said that he wanted me to bring Spanky in early so he could take his
prescriptions before he went to bed the night that I took Spanky in after surgery.
7. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that I screamed at him when he had mistaken Spanky for a
female.
Fact: I would never talk in that manner and I am sure anyone that knows me could tell you the
same. I am not a confrontational person.
8. Lie: Dr. Brackeen said that the reason he called Spanky a female was because he was so
fat he could not see his "little weenie".
Fact: Yes, Spanky was overweight, but in no means did he have rolls that would keep
someone from being able to tell that he was a boy. I wonder if Dr. Brackeen’s concerns
about Spanky’s weight were noted in Spanky’s records?
Other concerns that I have:
How could anyone believe that Dr. Brackeen could remember taking Spanky’s temperature and it was 99.6F? How he could remember that additional antibiotics were administered when he could not even remember the day of the week that Spanky died on? A more acute example of Dr. Brackeen’s memory is the question regarding the medication used to sedate animals for surgery. This is something that is in Dr. Brackeen’s clinic and seen daily by him - and he could not even remember the three (3) medications that are used by him during every surgery on every animal. Yet, Dr. Brackeen expected me and the board to believe the he remembered Spanky’s temperature? Jessica said that they (her and Desiree) had to pull the charts and remind Dr. Brackeen who Spanky even was when my complaint first arrived at the Anchor Road Vet Clinic (ARC).
When speaking with Jessica, she said that even after the investigator came to the clinic, Dr. Brackeen continued with all the same procedures in the clinic and did not change anything. She was shocked that Dr. Brackeen did not seem to realize the seriousness of the charges.
This reminds me of exactly what I have been saying about Dr. Brackeen in all of my letters: Not getting off the couch to help Spanky; not touching Spanky when I brought him in the day after surgery; his careless and thoughtless words of “putting Spanky in the freezer”; him making a “joke” about Spanky having tons of blood and would not die anytime soon; Dr. Brackeen saying that the tumor was cancer when in the hearing he made it clear that it is obvious from the appearance if a tumor is just fatty tissue; and let us not forget that Dr. Brackeen did not even start writing his letter to the Board until *after* the required 21 days to respond.
Does Dr. Brackeen care about his practice, his patients, his license, his employees, or even the state board? Everything that I have learned and observed from this process is that Dr. Brackeen does not care. This makes me question, if only a fine was put in place for the 2006-07 infraction does Dr. Brackeen anticipate the same treatment from the board this time? Does he believe that everything will be forgotten, brushed aside, and he can go back to the same amateurish, poor excuse for professional procedures? Apparently the fine that was accessed in 2007 did not stop him from repeating the same violation in 2009 and 2010. Do I even need to emphasize that only two (2) years had past. I shake my head and wonder whose “Spanky” will be Dr. Brackeen’s next victim?
In Dr. Brackeen’s answer to my complaint letter he stated, “I feel sorrow for the family and hope with time their anger will heal” No, I was not angry in the beginning. Hurt? Yes. And I did question every action I took, but now I realize I did nothing wrong.
I will not allow Dr. Brackeen to pass the blame on to me, or use the pathetic excuse of Spanky being fat. The cause of Spanky’s death is a direct result of Dr. Brackeen and HIS incompetence, HIS malpractice, and HIS self-admitted substance abuse. And now that I have dealt with loosing a family member to this veterinarian’s negligence, I am angry. I am angry at HIS record of, and repeated negligence. I am angry because this is a licensee of the state, charged with upholding the humane and competent treatment of an animal, bound by the laws and statutes of his own profession, taking an oath to do no harm. And most of all, he in a position of PUBLIC TRUST that is granted and governed by this board.
When I left the hearing in Austin I felt relieved, I felt proud that I stood up for Spanky, and maybe saved another family’s beloved pet. I hear “probation” and it makes me wonder… what have I really accomplished during this process? My money back and Dr. Brackeen’s name on a webpage? What I really hoped would come from my efforts is the assurance that this does not happen anymore.
Besides Dr. Brackeen being required to complete some continuing education and refunding the “blood money” for Spanky, I was shocked that probation may be one of the only punishment handed down to him. How many people will have to go through the same loss and lies I have suffered at his hands before the Board takes real action against Dr. Brackeen? When will Dr. Brackeen realize that this type of behavior is unacceptable?
All this leaves me with this question…what would it take to have an unconcerned (shown in his care for record keeping and care of Spanky), incompetent (proven by his record of continuing education), drug addicted (noted by the boards investigator and admitted to by Dr. Brackeen) veterinarian lose or be suspended of his license?
Maybe a more appropriate question is how much worse does a Veterinarian have to behave to be punished to the extent that I and others would deem just?
Or, maybe the real question is am I asking the right people? Maybe it is time for me to tell this whole sad, surprising story elsewhere. Then perhaps something resembling governance would occur in the way of making sure Dr. Brackeen and others like him aren’t allowed to hurt pets and their owners in the way he has in my case.
Sincerely,
Nettie Dunn
Angleton, TX 77515