Frustrated by legal system, state officials turn to undercover tactics for statewide crackdown

Raleigh, N.C.- At least six North Carolina residents face charges of rendering veterinary services without a license as part of a statewide sting to curb illegal practices.

Thomas Mickey, the state veterinary medical board's executive director,says it's common knowledge that lay practitioners - often breeders or kennelowners - regularly perform illegal surgeries and vaccinations.

Now, Mickey says, he and his colleagues have had enough. For years, NorthCarolina Veterinary Medical Board officials have helplessly watched violatorsdodge discipline as their misdemeanor charges did little to spark prosecutorinterest.

But all that's changed. The board's moved beyond its often-ignored warningletters, Mickey says, and now employs a retired police officer to performundercover work.

"I know all 50 states try to do this administratively, sending outthese cease-and-desist orders, but people don't take them seriously,"he says. "We've hired a respected and professional investigator, andwe're bent on catching these people. They shouldn't be doing this, and we'regoing to find them."

In the kitty

So far, Mickey's come through on his promises. Since the undercover officerstarted in December, two people have been prosecuted and fined while fourothers have been arrested.

The operation runs like this: The investigator picks up an animal scheduledfor euthanasia from the local humane society and visits the suspect, requestingveterinary services. Once those services are rendered, the accused is ticketedor arrested.

Suspects ordinarily offer to administer vaccines or medications, butat least one woman, passing herself off as a veterinarian, neutered theinvestigator's cat and declawed its four paws.

Karen Peterson, of Shelby, N.C. was convicted of misdemeanor charges,fined $500 and received 12 months probation in lieu of jail time.

After recovering, the cat was adopted.

"It was the only way we could catch her," Mickey explains."No one would step up to the plate and say she was doing it."

No isolated incident

While there are no national statistics on the number of lay practitioners rendering veterinary services, Mickey estimates the numbers are high.

"We have 100 counties in North Carolina and my gut feeling is thereare two to three people in every county doing this," he says. "Weare constantly hearing about dogs and cats dying, and a lot of these surgeriesare performed without anesthetic.

"We know that taking these animals in is a risk, but how many otheranimals are we going to save by doing this? This was the only way to moveforward."

To beef up enforcement, Kathy Kirkpatrick, executive director of theOklahoma Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, also hired an investigator.

"We had this case where this woman was educated in veterinary medicineand working for her dad, who was licensed," Kirkpatrick says. "Shecouldn't pass the national exam, even though she took it six times.

"We disciplined her once, but then she just went to work for a newdoctor, who naturally assumed she was licensed. She even had a non-competeclause. When we investigated her, we taped everything."

The inquest revealed this unlicensed practitioner, Patricia Foote, wasdiagnosing animals and calling in scheduled drug prescriptions. She wasfound guilty of a misdemeanor and fined $20,000 along with $17,000 in investigativecosts. Her father, John Foote, lost his license along with his practiceand retired.

Deterrent enough?

But fines and arrests are just stumbling blocks for some lay practitioners,who oftentimes fail to realize they're breaking the law, especially if they'vespent years doing it.

Of all the suspects contacted by DVM Newsmagazine, just one returnedthe call. Dianne Helms, owner of Waxhaw Way Kennels in Union County, hasbeen charged with administering vaccines and delivering veterinary serviceswithout a license. At presstime, she was scheduled to appear in court, stillmaintaining her innocence.

"I did nothing wrong," she tells DVM Newsmagazine. "These vaccines are legal and I can give them if I want. The law says I can."

Mickey says it's suspects like Helms who go as far as providing receiptsfor the vaccines they administer.

"It seems pretty straightforward. If you want healthcare, you goto a doctor; when you want veterinary care, you go to a veterinarian,"he says. "You don't go to someone who's unlicensed."

If convicted, Helms faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Cases mount

While state laws leave a lot of leeway for individuals treating theirown pets, they're pretty cut-and-dry in prohibiting lay persons from chargingfor veterinary services or treating another person's pet.

That's why private investigators continue to pound the pavement, workingvigorously to keep lay practitioners out of business.

"These animal are helpless; we've got to protect them," Mickeysays. "We're in mode to get rid of these people. If that means we haveto work 80 hours a week, that's what we do." M