Inquiry Sept. 18, 2009 Hollister Veterinary Clinic

This is Leroy Brown’s Inquiry Blog. Leroy Brown was a ginger, orange and white tomcat that lived with his human parents in their home in Hollister, California.
Leroy was 14 years old, and had come through 2 successful cancer surgeries, and a cryosurgery, for a total of 3 surgeries when he passed away suddenly on Friday September 18, 2009, in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on Sunnyslope Drive under circumstances that were not explained very well to his human parents.
That’s why this blog was created, to ask the public if anyone, who was there in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on Sunnyslope Drive in Hollister, California, on Friday September 18, 2009, between the hours of 2:00 pm when the clinic opened it’s doors after lunch, up to 3:00 pm the same day, to please send an email to the email address provided in this blog to Leroy’s human parents, and tell them what you saw or heard in that clinic, on that day!

Leroy’s veterinarian, who treated him for salivary gland cancer is Dr. Jerry Leroux.
Dr. Leroux was vague in his pronouncement when he told Leroy’s human parents that Leroy died from a heart attack OR a brain hemorrhage.
Dr. Leroux emphasized that Leroy didn’t die from the cancer he was fighting, or from the surgery he underwent that morning.

Leroy’s human parents aren’t sure what actually killed Leroy Brown because Dr. Leroux was purposely vague about the circumstances surrounding Leroy’s death..

Leroy’s September 18th death story starts in the morning of the same day, when his parents carried him into the Hollister Veterinary Clinic in his 'lucky' leopard print blanket. His good luck blanket had apparently run out of luck for the little guy on September 18th. Leroy was back in Dr. Leroux’s clinic for his third surgery on the re-growing cancerous tumor that had attacked him on his salivary glands. Leroy’s first full tumor removal surgery, was on July 2, 2009. A couple of weeks later Leroy underwent a cryosurgery to remove suspicious tissue re-growing under his tongue. Salivary gland cancer grows under the tongue, makes the victim drool, and can happen to any mammal including dogs, cats and even humans!

Leroy’s human father called the Hollister Veterinary Clinic at 10:00 am on the morning of September 18, and Joy Smith, the clinic’s receptionist, told him that Leroy was in surgery. When Leroy’s human father called the clinic at 12:00 noon, the same day, Joy Smith told him that Leroy was out of surgery, the surgery was successful, and Leroy was recovering in a recovery cage. Joy added that Dr. Leroux had left for lunch.

At the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on Sunnyslope Drive in Hollister California the custom for Dr. Jerry Leroux is to do surgery in the morning, on the days he does surgery, and to leave for lunch at 12:00 noon; returning to the clinic at 2:00 pm to open the front door to clients.
Often there are clients waiting anxiously at the clinic’s door to pick up their companion animals that have undergone surgical procedures in the morning. Leroy's human parents hope that one of those clients who was at the clinic at 2:00 pm on Friday September 18, 2009 will see this blog, and contact them.

When Leroy’s human father called the clinic at 2:15 pm to tell the clinic’s receptionist, Joy Smith, that he was on his way to pick up his Leroy Brown, he was told to not come into the clinic until 4:00 pm. This call is what told Leroy’s human parents, later on, that it was between 2:00 pm when the clinic opened after lunch, and 2:15 pm when Leroy's human father called the clinic, when something horrible happened to their Leroy; something so horrible, that it killed him.

Leroy’s human father called the clinic again at 3:00 pm asking if it was all right to come in to pick up Leroy. Joy Smith again told him, to wait until 4:00 pm to come into the clinic to pick up Leroy.
Like fools, Leroy’s human parents waited until 4:00 before traveling the short distance to the Hollister Veterinary Clinic to pick up their cat. When Leroy’s human parents arrived at the clinic, they were escorted into the clinic’s small, crowded, dingy, back room that serves as the operating room in this clinic. There were 3 small animal holding/recovery cages stacked up in the corner of this room. What greeted Leroy Brown’s human parents in that crowded, dingy room was his body, lying on a white plastic, cotton stuffed, clinic shroud; Leroy Brown was dead!
Leroy’s human mother looked at the three precariously stacked cages she saw in the left, back corner of that tiny room, and she wondered if her Leroy spent his recovery time in one of those cages?

Leroy’s eyes were open, there was a drip needle in his leg, and the drip going into his leg was making a loud drip, drip sound. Leroy’s human mother will never forget that sound as long as she lives.
A breathing tube was in his mouth. Leroy’s tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth. This was what Leroy Brown’s parents were greeted with when at noontime they were told that their Leroy Brown had come through his surgery, and was in recovery.

Before Leroy’s human parents saw him on that table they were not aware that their precious cat companion was dead. No one told them that Leroy was dead before they entered that back room, and the clinic staff had plenty of opportunity to tell Leroy’s human parents, during the phone calls that were made to the clinic, to tell Leroy's human father, that Leroy was dead!

As his human parents viewed his body, Dr. Leroux told Leroy’s parents that Leroy had jumped from his holding cage, and the doctor said that this action on Leroy’s part, somehow killed him.
To Leroy’s parents it appeared that what Dr. Leroux was doing here was to transfer the blame for Leroy’s death, from himself and his staff, to Leroy, the victim!

On the following Monday, September 21, Leroy's parents would meet again, in a prearranged meeting, with Dr. Leroux to try to find out what exactly happened to their cat on Friday, September 18th. This second meeting with the doctor only confused one of the issues further. On Friday the 18th it was the doctor's staff member, Miko Groff, when she was left alone with Leroy's parents, told them that she opened Leroy's cage yet on Monday the 21st Dr. Leroux took the blame, and told Leroy's parents that he opened Leroy's cage.

On Friday, September 18th after being told that the jump from a cage killed her cat, Leroy’s human mother again looked at the stack of cages in the left, front corner of the room, and wondered, which one Leroy had been stowed in, that he jumped from, and how did the jump from the cage kill him?
The doctor’s assistant, Sherilyn Miko Groff spoke up, and said that when she picked Leroy up, after she had chased him throughout that small clinic, that Leroy’s heart was racing. Dr. Leroux referred to Mrs. Groff as his ‘vet tech’. Mrs. Groff said that she thought that Leroy’s racing heart meant that he was having a heart attack.

Wouldn’t your heart race if you were a small companion animal, and a large human animal, which was not a member of your family, was chasing you, and you had surgery 2hours earlier? During surgery anesthesia is given, so anyone, who has surgery, including a cat, is still a bit groggy 2 hours after surgery!

Dr. Leroux said at this time that he gave Leroy a shot, after Mrs. Groff caught him.
Dr. Leroux said that Leroy coughed, and then he died.

It was after he said that Leroy died after his shot, that Dr. Leroux left the tiny operating room, leaving Mrs. Groff to deal with Leroy’s human parents grief.
Dr. Leroux referred to Mrs. Groff as his ‘vet tech’ several times during this conversation.

It was at this time after Dr. Leroux left the room when Mrs. Groff told Leroy's parents that she opened his cage, and she again said that she chased him around the small clinic. She again said that since his heart was racing she thought that he was having a heart attack, and she said that she told the doctor what she thought was going on..
It was in January 2010 when Leroy’s human mother learned that Mrs. Sherilyn Miko Groff is an ASSISTANT to Dr. Leroux; she is NOT a Certified Veterinary Technician. What that means is that Mrs. Groff has no state certification.
Because she has no background in biology she shouldn’t be diagnosing any animal, in any clinic. Because Mrs. Groff has no state certification, in Leroy’s human parents opinion, she shouldn’t be left with the care of any animal after it has undergone surgery, and is in a vulnerable state, in recovery.

A Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) has to take a State of California test in order to have this certification. It is recommended that a CVT have a background in the biological sciences, and have at least a 2-year college degree, heavy on biology.
Mrs. Groff does not have this certification..

Leroy’s parents had to take their Leroy Brown home wrapped up in the white, clinic shroud he died on, and in a cardboard box. He was taken home in the trunk of his human mother’s car. Can you imagine what that did to his human mother?
Leroy was her ‘cat son’; he had lived with the family for 14 years. She felt that she had lost a member of her family, and here he was stuffed in a cardboard box, wrapped up in a plastic shroud, in the trunk of her car.
No one in that clinic said a word to Leroy’s human parents that day that they were sorry that the little guy died in their clinic, on that day! There was not a single kind word said to his human parents! Looking back on everything 5 months after the fact, Leroy’s human parents realize that the clinic’s staff must have realized what they had done, and how it would affect Leroy’s human parents. That is most likely why they didn’t apologize for Leroy’s death! They were holding their collective breaths waiting for Leroy’s parents to collect his remains, and leave the clinic. Then on the following Monday when Leroy’s parents returned to the clinic to meet with Dr. Leroux they had to have felt the same.

Leroy had to be stored in the deep freeze in his human parent’s garage, until he could be buried. There was family to notify telling them that Leroy had suddenly passed away, and an interment ceremony was planned, which in time was carried out.

Dr. Leroux sent a condolence card to Leroy’s human parents home sometime after the fact.
In the card Dr. Leroux signed the card saying, “He was a good boy”.
Yes, Leroy Brown was “a good boy”, and he deserved better than what was done to him at the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on Sunnyslope Drive on Friday September 18, 2009!

Although it has been 5 months since his death, Leroy’s human parents are still grief stricken because they know that he was chased around that clinic before he died, and being chased was a terrifying experience for him to go through! His human parents also realize that Leroy was most likely having a panic attack, when he was given that shot, not a heart attack.

Leroy was in unfamiliar surroundings with people he didn’t know, and he was frightened enough without being chased throughout that clinic!
People and animals alike, have panic attacks when they are in situations where they are afraid for their lives, or think that someone is threatening to kill them. Being chased can be interpreted as a threat against your life!
This is just common sense to know that this is the case!
An animal or a person who is having a panic attack has a racing heart, and doesn’t need drugs; they need to be comforted until the panic attack subsides!

Dr. Leroux told Leroy’s human parents that Leroy coughed and died after he gave him the shot. Leroy’s parents believe, from what was said to them on September 18 when Dr. Leroux was still present in the operating room, that Dr. Leroux gave Leroy that shot on the say of his assistant, who is NOT a State of California Certified Veterinary Technician, yet stated to the doctor that she thought that Leroy was having a heart attack!

Heart attack victims are given an intravenous shot of a drug to lower their blood pressure.
This shot should open up constricted arteries, and should lower the pressure.
Constriction of arteries or an artery can be from several different causes.
The end result of a constricted artery or arteries is blood flow is slowed or stopped from reaching the heart and or brain.
It is the constriction of arteries or an artery that elevates, raises blood pressure.
Leroy’s parents know this because Leroy’s human father had 2 heart attacks in 2007.
Leroy died after he was given the shot.

If Leroy Brown was having a panic attack he shouldn’t have been given any drug at all!


Dr. Leroux was vague in his language when he spoke to Leroy's human parents about what actually killed Leroy Brown.
It is possible that someone who reads this blog will be educated in companion animal care, and be able to cast some light on this question of what actually did kill Leroy Brown. If you know why a shot given to a cat to lower blood pressure will kill that cat, will you please send the information to the email address on this inquiry blog? .

Leroy’s parents see that there were two main issues that contributed to Leroy Brown’s death. The crowded conditions of the back room, operating room with the recovery cages stacked one on top of the other in a haphazard condition was a definite, contributing factor to his death.
The second issue is that 3 of the doctor’s staff members, whom assist him with surgery and care of his client's animals, do NOT have California State Certified Veterinary Technician status. These are the two main issues that contributed to Leroy Brown’s premature death on Friday September 18, 2009, and both of these issues can be remedied to prevent what happened to Leroy Brown from happening to other small animals!

There is only one California State CVT individual working for Dr. Leroux, Mina Ward, and Leroy’s parents didn’t see her in the clinic on September 18, 2009.
In Leroy Brown’s human parents opinion, all veterinary staff members in animal clinics should be certified by the state. Persons who are not CVT should not be left alone with small animals in a clinic surrounding; especially small animals that have gone through surgery, and are in recovery mode.
Think of this situation in this way, if you had a young child in the hospital who had gone through surgery wouldn't you want that child to be attended to by educated and state certified nurses who knew to do the right thing to care for your child? Or would you want just anyone who walked off the street, who had no qualifications at all to care for a patient in a hospital, to care for your child?

Many people who have companion animals, dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, all sorts of creatures, think of these companion animals as members of their families. The human parents of the ginger orange and white cat named Leroy Brown, thought of him as a member of their family. That’s why they want to know, want to understand, what happened to Leroy in that clinic where he should have been safe. Leroy’s human parents trusted Dr. Leroux, and Leroy trusted his human parents. Leroy’s human parents feel that they let the little guy down when they left him in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on that Friday, September 18, 2009.

Leroy’s human parents knew that they were going to lose him at some time in the near future because he was battling salivary gland cancer.
What hurts Leroy’s parents so much is HOW HE DIED, he was frightened, fearing a person who was chasing him, and he had to believe was going to harm him. He was far from his familiar home, and his ‘people’ who loved him so much!

Leroy’s human parents are also trying to understand how the staff members of the Hollister Veterinary Clinic could be so cruel to them, as they were on that day.
Why didn’t Joy Smith tell Leroy’s human father on the phone, that Leroy had passed away BEFORE he and Leroy’s human mother were escorted into that back room, operating room?

Not telling his human parents that he was dead before they saw him lying on that table on that white clinic shroud was a barbaric thing to do to his human parents, who loved the little guy so much! Leroy’s human parents believed that he was going home to recover at home with them instead they had to transport the little guy to his home, in that cardboard box!

If you were in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on Friday September 18, 2009 at any time of the day but especially if you were in that clinic after lunch at 2:00pm to 3:00pm when the clinic doors were opened after lunch, will you PLEASE email Leroy’s human parents at the email address that is provided in this ‘inquiry’ blog, and tell Leroy’s human parents what you saw, and what you heard in regards to a ginger, orange and white tomcat whose name was Leroy Brown.
Please if you were there, please send that email to 46cdutra@gmail.com in memory of a great little guy, who died much too soon, and who died under horrible circumstances, that he didn’t deserve!

Thank you,

Leroy’s human parents, Dick Dutra and Carol Garnier Dutra

Following are web links to a U.S. government web site, and web links to the State of California web sites where you can research both veterinarians licenses, and California Veterinary Technicians (CVT) certifications:

United States Department of Labor recommendation for a Veterinary Technician
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos183.htm
Licensure and certification. Each State regulates veterinary technicians and technologists differently; however, all States require them to pass a credentialing exam following coursework. Passing the State exam assures the public that the technician or technologist has sufficient knowledge to work in a veterinary clinic or hospital. Candidates are tested for competency through an examination that includes oral, written, and practical portions and that is regulated by the State Board of Veterinary Examiners or the appropriate State agency. Depending on the State, candidates may become registered, licensed, or certified. Most States, however, use the National Veterinary Technician (NVT) exam. Prospects usually can have their passing scores transferred from one State to another, so long as both States use the same exam.

California Veterinary Medical Board
California State Department of Consumer Affairs
http://www.vmb.ca.gov/

License Search for Registered Veterinary Technicians
California State Department of Consumer Affairs
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/wllqryna$lcev2.startup?p_qte_code=VTT&p_qte_pgm_code=9020

California Veterinary Medical Association
This is a private organization
http://www.cvma.net/Default.asp
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If we place a ‘new post’ on this blog it will move the ‘inquiry’ post further down within the blog with the ‘new post’ on the top of the page. We don’t want to do this because the whole purpose of this blog is to find persons who were in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic at or around 2:00 pm on September 18, 2009. So instead of adding a new post to this blog I am adding to the original blog post to keep the original intent of this blog on the first page.

Today is April 11, 2010: there isn’t a day that goes past that doesn’t contain vivid memories of Leroy’s presence in our lives; a presence that is missed as much today as it was last year when the hurt of his sudden death was still fresh in our collective memories.
We will never get over how cold, how cruel the people in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic treated our Leroy Brown, and how cold and cruel they treated both my husband and I on that fateful day back in September 2009.

It was in January 2010 when my husband and I learned about the Veterinary Medical Board, and the fact that we could submit a complaint to this organization about what was done to both our cat, Leroy Brown Dutra, and what was done to us on September 18, 2009.

The Veterinary Medical Board, Registered Veterinary Technician Committee on Evergreen Street in Sacramento California received our complaint and explanatory letter on January 28, 2010, and wrote us back that it would take from four to nine months for them to investigate our complaint.
The letter we received from the Veterinary Medical Board goes on to say that the overall disciplinary process including investigation and formal discipline through the Attorney General’s office can take up to two years.

Dick and I realize that it is possible that despite the abuse our Leroy received in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic, being chased around the clinic two hours after his surgery, it is still possible that no violations of the California Practice Act have occurred.

The crowded, dingy back room/operating room/small animal holding room may or may not be a violation of the California Practice Act. If crowding and cleanliness are not an issue addressed by the California Practice Act then perhaps they should be issues addressed.

Unqualified staff workers in a clinical setting caring for companion animals after surgical procedures should be an issue that should be addressed by the California Practice Act!
If unqualified staff workers are able to care for innocent companion animals in a clinical setting then this issue has to be challenged!
All staff working in animal care clinics should be required to take the California State Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) test, which is issued by the State of California.

My husband and I pray that all three of these issues, abuse in a clinical setting, crowding and cleanliness in an animal clinic, and qualifications of staff workers in a clinical setting are resolved or are already resolved within the California Practice Act, and we pray that the resolutions of these issues are in favor of companion animals, and their care in animal clinics.
We pray that no more, small, dependent, companion animals have to suffer the same fate in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic, or any other animal clinic, as our dear Leroy Brown suffered on September 18, 2009.

Thank you for reading our blog, if we have any updates to post we will add the updates in the same manner as we added this update in order to retain the integrity of this blog, and it’s true intention, which is to locate anyone who was in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic on Sunnyslope Road in Hollister around 2:00 pm on September 18, 2009.

Update:
Today is June 10, 2010, the memory of our dear Leroy, how he died, and how those people in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic treated us on that horrible day is still breaking our hearts, especially mine.

We still haven't heard back from the people in Sacramento.

I got an email last week from a woman who lives in San Juan Bautista who told me that her beloved dog died in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic a week ago, after undergoing surgery. I wonder what happened to her dog that killed it?
This lady told me that Dr. Leroux wasn't able to tell her what killed her dog.
I emailed the lady back but she hasn't returned my email. I am sure she is still in 'deep' grief as I was for over 3 months.

It's almost a year now since Leroy was killed, and I still cry whenever I think of what they did to him, what they did to us!

If anyone else who reads our blog has a story to tell about their animal dying in the Hollister Veterinary Clinic, please email me, and let me know what happened.

Please...
go to...
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/increase-californias-animal-cruelty-laws

PLEASE sign the petition to Increase California Animal Cruelty Laws to protect all dogs and cats wither they be in a private home or in an animal clinic...they need to be protected with stronger laws.

Thank you, Carol Garnier Dutra

Carol Garnier Dutra, Dick Dutra, human parents of Leroy Brown Dutra

Copyright © 2010 by Carol Garnier Dutra


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