Medical Board to Review Charges Against Veterinarian

An administrative law judge has recommended dismissal of seven animal abuse and negligence charges filed against a Newhall veterinarian including allegations that he threw a dog against a wall and hit a horse with a hammer.

The judge, Paul M. Hogan, said the allegations of abuse were groundless and also rejected charges of negligence filed by the state attorney general’s office against veterinarian James Bullock.

But the state Board of Examiners in Veterinary Medicine has refused to accept Hogan’s recommendation and will hold its own hearing on the charges, said Gary K. Hill, the board’s executive officer. Hill said the charges against Bullock are serious enough to warrant further review.

After a hearing, possibly in July, the six-member board could dismiss the charge, revoke his license or take other punitive action against Bullock, Hill said. The board, which could have accepted Hogan’s recommendation, decided to review the case last month.

Bullock, a veterinarian since 1972, has been the subject of complaints from pet owners for nine years, according to Stephen S. Handin, a state deputy attorney general.

An administrative law judge placed Bullock on five years probation and suspended his license for 45 days in 1984 after pet owners and prosecutors accused him of unprofessional behavior and care.

Bullock was found negligent in that case of a dog which died after it was anesthetized for a teeth cleaning.

The judge ruled that Bullock should have told the dog’s owners about a blood test that could have spotted the potential dangers of anesthesia.

Bullock also refused to provide service late at night for a dog owner even though his advertisements promised 24-hour service.

In the latest case, prosecutors outlined what they said were repeated instances of poor judgment and violent behavior by the veterinarian.

An enraged Bullock beat and kicked an Akita hound in 1985 after it lunged at him and ripped his shirt, prosecutors said during a two-week hearing held in December.

Two years later, they said, Bullock threw a Boston terrier against a wall after the dog nipped at one of his assistants.

But Hogan, in a recommendation released Feb. 28, said the charges could not be corroborated and were presented by former employees and persons who had “some degree of animosity” toward Bullock.

Hogan noted that a former employee who said Bullock hit a horse with hammer later recanted on the witness stand, admitting he made up the story.

Prosecutors said Bullock sometimes failed to follow proper diagnostic procedures.

Bullock failed to X-ray a German shepherd named Buddy in a timely manner after the dog was hit by a car, prosecutors said.

But Hogan said there was “no evidence of injury to Buddy because of the delay in taking X-rays.

“It is good veterinary practice not to X-ray an animal until such time as the vital signs of the animal are stable.”

Hogan rejected other allegations of improper care, saying Bullock followed accepted veterinary procedures.