Vet accused of beating, neglect
Novato, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, May 1, 2003
County: Marin
Disposition: Dismissed (Conditional)
Person of Interest: Charles Galvin, DVM
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
The state Court of Appeal says a Marin judge must explain her decision reversing a 2003 ruling in an animal cruelty case.
The ruling was a victory for the state Veterinary Medical Board, which had revoked the license of Dr. Charles Galvin, a Novato veterinarian who has been allowed to continue his practice despite claims against him.
Before Marin Superior Court Judge Lynn Duryee's reversal of the ruling, the veterinary board had ordered Galvin to surrender his license, shut down his practice and pay $15,000 to cover the cost of investigating and prosecuting the case.
The Veterinary Medical Board has argued that Galvin engaged in negligent or substandard practices. That included 14 instances of negligence in the practice of veterinary medicine, 13 instances of cruelty to animals, 14 instances of general unprofessional conduct, 13 violations of board regulations and three instances of failure to maintain the premises and equipment in a sanitary manner.
Galvin was found by the board to have committed nearly all of the violations, although he corrected problems such as stocking expired medication and failing to meet sterilization and sanitary requirements, according to court records.
Testimony in the case indicated that Galvin choked a puppy, punched a Rottweiler and committed other violent acts against pets.
Deputy Attorney General Kim Settles, who represents the state veterinary board, said Galvin admitted to five instances of mistreatment. Settles said the May 23 appellate court ruling indicates that the trial court was in error in reversing the board's decision to revoke Galvin's license.
When the statement of decision, which outlines the reasons behind a judicial ruling, is issued by Duryee, Settles said she would make a decision about how to proceed.
Case UpdatesSupporters of a Novato veterinarian whose license is to be revoked next week protested Thursday at the Sacramento offices of the state veterinary board, attorney general and governor.
A crowd of 50 to 75 people, along with 25 pets, marched at the Capitol to show their allegiance to Dr. Charles Galvin, who has fought more than nine years to clear his name in the high-profile animal cruelty case.
Galvin, 65, spent Thursday working at his office knowing that Nov. 6 will be his last day as a veterinarian. He expressed gratitude to the people who made the Sacramento trip but said he's reached the end of his 40-year career.
"This has left me with no money and no job. I'm starting over," he said. "I've got to close my building, and I'm going to be left in debt. This will keep me from doing what I love doing."
In 2002, three former veterinary assistants portrayed a chaotic, violent clinic in which the doctor, perpetually behind schedule, would often knock uncooperative animals unconscious to save time. They said Galvin was moody and frequently took out his anger on his staff and his patients. They spoke of seeing Galvin hit animals, choke them with his hands and slam them against the wall.
The California Veterinary Medical Board, after a long appeal process by Galvin, made its decision in July to revoke Galvin's license based on 13 counts of animal cruelty that had been laid out before Marin County courts between 2002 and 2006.
The board had decided to revoke his license in 2006 based on evidence presented in court, but Galvin's attorney appealed and it has bounced between courts since then, allowing Galvin to keep open his Bel Marin Keys office, the Veterinary Hospital of Ignacio Inc. and Imaginarium.
In 2007, a trial court found there was convincing evidence of mistreatment of several dogs and birds, and a subsequent court ruling requested the state veterinary board to make a second investigation. On Oct. 7, the board signed the document, which goes into effect 30 days later and requires him to pay $15,000 for the cost of the second investigation.
Sue Geranen, executive officer for the veterinary board, met with the protesters Thursday and said it was a cordial discussion.
"You can tell they are sincere," she said. "They have their concerns and want him to be able to continue his work, but the board has made its decision. If there are any methods of appeal, his attorney would advise him of that."
Of the protesters, Geranen added, "I don't understand why, when there are 13 counts of animal cruelty against him, they would still want to have their animals seen by that veterinarian."
Galvin said the allegations are "absurd" and criticized members of the vet medical board.
"They distorted the truth, they flat-out lied, they perjured their witnesses, they gave misleading information to the press and they ignored thousands of communications that were sent to them," he said. "They are supposed to be an advocate for the public but clearly they are not. They advocate for themselves. For them, this is about winning so they can pretend they are serving the public and they can bill me for their legal fees."
Lilli Heart of Larkspur was among those who made the trip to Sacramento, saying she is one of 20,000 clients of Galvin statewide. She said she is going to try to set up a music concert and network on Facebook to help raise funds for Galvin.
"He is the most humane man I've ever met," she said. "This guy helps people and pets who really need help. This is a terrible loss to our community."
Protest organizer John Belluardo, declaring the trip "extremely successful," said petitions were presented to the vet board and the offices of state Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Belluardo said the goal was to call for "people in the decision-making capacity ... (to) heed our calls for justice and rescind the action by the veterinary medical board. We are all very committed. Dr. Galvin means the world to us. He's very simply the most competent and most popular vet in the entire Bay Area, and we want to keep him in practice because our pets need him." | Source: Marinij.com - Oct 29, 2009
Update posted on Oct 30, 2009 - 1:18PM |
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