State License Revocation Hearings Begin for Sun Valley Veterinarian

License revocation hearings began Monday for a Sun Valley veterinarian accused by the state attorney general’s office of negligence in his diagnosis and treatment of several animals, officials said.

Prompted by the complaints of pet owners and former employees, the state conducted an investigation of George Bernard Shaw, 60, and initiated proceedings last year to have Shaw’s license suspended or revoked.

In one case, authorities contend that Shaw left a dog disfigured after the animal contracted gangrene. In another, a cat died from a chemotherapy drug after Shaw mistakenly diagnosed it as suffering from leukemia, officials said.

Other allegations include negligence, substandard record keeping and lack of proper sanitary conditions, Deputy Atty. Gen. Stephen Handin said.

Shaw had earned a reputation among many colleagues and former customers as a country-style doctor who charged half the going rate, had a easy manner with animals and even made house calls in emergencies.

Shaw said Monday that he has been a veterinarian for 25 years. He claims he has 10,000 clients at his veterinary clinic near Hansen Dam, including several animals used in television and films. He denies the allegations and attributes them to a disgruntled former employee.

Robert E. Shoop, Shaw’s attorney, declined to comment on the specifics of the case but said there were about 12 charges against Shaw.

“I believe that most, if not all of the allegations, will be disproved,” Shoop said. “The witnesses lack credibility.”

Monday’s testimony focused on a couple who said Shaw had misdiagnosed their Staffordshire terrier.

Sun Valley veterinarian Elinor A. Brandt said before Administrative Law Judge Carolyn M. Richardson in Los Angeles that she had treated the terrier in August, 1989.

Brandt said the owners had initially taken the dog to Shaw, who told them that the terrier was teething. In a letter, however, Brandt wrote that it was her opinion the dog was ill because it had not been property vaccinated.

“There’s nothing that he did wrong,” Shoop said in defense of his client.

Carol Harashevsky of Sunland is also expected to testify during the hearings.

In an interview Monday, Harashevsky said she complained to the state in 1988 after taking her dog Tresor, a German shepherd, to Shaw for about a month.

“I was just real angry at the outcome of it,” she said of her experience with Shaw.

The state investigation concluded that Tresor had to have a toe amputated by another veterinarian after Shaw wrapped the dog’s broken foot but failed to treat an infection, which led to gangrene.

The dog still has some difficulty walking, Harashevsky said.

“He doesn’t have the whole paw; he has less to walk on than normal,” she said of the dog.

State prosecutors are also expected to call former employee Kim Winders, who has told investigators that she witnessed a dog, who was undergoing euthanasia, convulsing for half an hour instead of dying quickly because Shaw did not use the proper drug.

“I’m confident that her testimony will be disproved,” Shoop said.

Officials in Oregon, where Shaw practiced intermittently from the late 1960s to the early ‘80s, charged him with negligence based on accusations that he failed to sanitize surgical tools, misdiagnosed illnesses and kept poor records.

In 1985, the state of Oregon tried to revoke Shaw’s license but he left the state before the action became final, officials said.

The Los Angeles hearing is expected to last about two weeks, after which Richardson will issue a ruling.