I HAVE read Ms. Levy’s letter (“Dr. Joseph defended,” May 2, 2012). The facts are fudged, evidence evaded and specifics skipped. She is embarrassingly wrong on about everything she says. She, like her hero, the Dr. Jekyll of the veterinary profession, has a distinct tendency to falsify and mislead. Since she attacks me by name, I now correct some of her more farfetched misrepresentations:

1. Evidence at the hearing clearly showed that for more than five years, the Wise Owl Animal Hospital has never had the Building and Occupancy Permits required by law. No mistake about it. Every day, the Wise Owl X-ray machine shoots radiation rays all over inside the building. What guarantee dose the non-suspecting public have that they (and their sick pets) are not getting radiated when they enter the premises? None at all. There is no building or occupancy permit to operate an animal hospital/lab. And Wise Owl’s pesticide use requires adherence to safety specifications that have not been approved by DPW, GEPA or DPHSS. Despite what you feel about Joseph, his clinic is a definite health risk to the public. There was never any ruling by the hearing officer that GBAHE lacked authority to bring this charge. Without the required permits, that building is a health hazard and a menace to the community. To keep his license, Joseph must comply with the law. He didn’t, and hasn’t, so his license was suspended for five years. That’s a fact.

2. There was overwhelming evidence that Joseph lied to former Agriculture Director Torres in order to have him sign accreditation approvals. Then Director Torres took him at his word that the papers to be signed were for continuing education credits. When the territorial vet alerted the federal Department of Agriculture about this, they never “wrote back “ that Dr. Poole’s facts were “untrue.” Bottom line: Joseph got his accreditation by putting one over on Director Torres. That’s part of the reason he’s been suspended from practice.

3. The fee-splitting charge was proven by undisputed, uncontested evidence, on the basis of complaints against Joseph. There have never been complaints against other veterinarians warranting the Board’s investigation. So no “selective prosecution.”

4. Dr. Lisa Silk’s testimony that Joseph overdosed a pet with contraindicated medication was never contradicted by any textbook at the hearing.

5. Dr. Poole testified correctly that the sick female dog with abdominal pain could have been suffering from pyometra, an abdominal abscess, peritonitis, or other abdominal ailments. Joseph never tested or treated for any of these possible conditions. According to Poole's evidence, if surgically untreated, these conditions are often fatal. Dr. Poole explained that pyometra is most often a bacterial infection of the uterus, and not as Joseph erroneously testified, a hormonal condition. When this Ms. Levy tells you that Dr. Poole "changed his testimony," she’s again inventing something she wants you to believe.

6. It was never suggested during the hearing that Dr. Poole ever “lied to the Legislature” or anyone else. His credibility was never challenged by Joseph on this basis.

7. No perjury was shown by the two witnesses who filed affidavits. Their statements were never shown to be anything else than true and correct to the best of their knowledge, information and belief. As of now, we don’t know anything other than that. What we do know is that Joseph angrily stated during the hearing that “they will fry for this.” Make no mistake about it, this is a vindictive vet.

8. I am a GovGuam assistant attorney general. I am not in private practice. I do not make any kind of fee from my cases. When Levy accuses me of “ambulance chasing,” she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Ambulance chasing is when a private lawyer follows an emergency vehicle to GMH to sign up the victim as a client for a big fee. Whenever someone asks that I investigate a consumer complaint, I always do the right thing. This is the same vet who accused me of being “racist” about two weeks ago. Total nonsense. Again, this is one vindictive vet out there.
9. Get this: Joseph never called even one expert witness to back up his lame defense that his treatment of animals was not incompetent. It was simply his word against three experts in veterinary medicine. Go figure.

10. A solid case was presented against Joseph. The Board carefully considered a mountain of evidence and the credibility of around a dozen witnesses. The consumer public should be glad we have a Health Examiner Board dedicated to protecting us all. Its decision to suspend Joseph from the practice of veterinary medicine requires the removal of his Wise Owl Animal Hospital sign on his building. No first amendment rights are violated at all.

Benjamin M. Abrams,
Assistant Attorney General