Pets and Vets: Clopton indicted on 52 counts in 'Edgewood 48' case

New Mexico

Clopton indicted on 52 counts in ‘Edgewood 48’ caseEx-veterinarian stripped of her license last year, indicted on 48 counts of animal cruetly, practicing veterinary medicine without a license and three drug possession felonies.

A Santa Fe County grand jury indicted former veterinarian Debra Clopton on 52 counts in relation to the “Edgewood 48” animal hoarding case in April. The indictment included three felony counts of possession of dangerous drugs and 48 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Clopton also received one count of practicing veterinary medicine without a license. The New Mexico Board of Veterinary Medicine revoked her veterinary license June 11, 2012.

The April 1 raid of the three-bedroom home Clopton rented revealed it to be crowded with 48 dogs in unsanitary conditions. The dogs were seized by the county and cared for by the Santa Fe Animal Shelter. The burden was so great—especially since five of the dogs were pregnant, giving birth to 32 puppies—that the county requested the district court order Clopton to pay $27,000 for their care or relinquish ownership. She tried to keep ownership of 10 dogs, the amount allowed by law, but she reportedly stopped paying the fees to regain the animals pending the outcome of her case.

Nevada

Veterinarian-turned-politician John Ensign, DVM, recently opened a new “luxury” animal hospital in Las Vegas two years after resigning from the U.S. Senate amidst an ethics probe involving an affair with a former campaign staffer. The 10-year senator ran two Las Vegas animal hospitals before entering the Senate in 2001. According to the Boca Park Animal Hospital website, the new 9,000-square-foot facility is a full-service medical, dental, surgical and critical care hospital with grooming and boarding services. Features include “high-density insulation to reduce noise and stress on animals, a restaurant-grade sprinkler system, boarding suites with luxury amenities for furry guests, a separate grooming suite, and a 1,600-square-foot exercise area.” The facility also has cameras to monitor hospital patients and boarding guests 24 hours a day and a private hospice and comfort room. Ensign also lists nutriceuticals as an important part of his practice.

Ohio

The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center in Dublin, Ohio, has added surgical services to its emergency and specialty veterinary hospital. Drs. Laurent Guiot and Reunan Guillou joined the practice during the summer and now provide surgical services daily. “Adding these two highly skilled surgeons to our team allows us to better serve our referring veterinarians and their clients and patients through leading-edge surgical services,” says Rustin Moore, an associate dean in OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

The satellite clinic opened this spring, much to the chagrin of some local practice owners who felt the university-backed clinic had an unfair advantage to compete directly in an already robust veterinary community populated mostly by alumni.

Pennsylvania

Winners of the “Happy Tails” contest sponsored by Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania (PennVet) have been featured in a billboard campaign. Owners submitted their pet’s photo and a story about how PennVet’s Ryan Hospital helped their animal. The four winners were Tristan, a 5-year-old Shetland sheepdog treated for melanoma; Toby, an 8-year-old Labradoodle with treated for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; Lukas, a 1-year-old ragdoll cat treated for lower motor neuron disease; and Humphrey, a rescue bunny treated for GI stasis.

Virginia

Shannon Matzinger, PhD, postdoctoral associate in the department of biomedical sciences and pathobiology at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, received a two-year, $150,000 postdoctoral fellowship grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate how porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) depletes the lymphatic system and causes inflammation in pigs. Specifically, Matzinger will test the hypothesis that the virus encodes viral micro-RNAs that obstruct the immune system’s ability to detect the virus.