SALT LAKE CITY — In July, FOX 13 News brought you the story of a Salt Lake City veterinarian who was being investigated by the Utah Department of Professional Licensing (DOPL).
This happened after routine visits and check-ups to his animal hospital turned deadly for several pet owners’ furry companions.
Now, the DOPL has determined what’s next for Dr. Michael Blotter and his practice.
FOX 13 first met Amber Pratt last year. She was mom to Buttercup, a 9-year-old cat who had been a part of Pratt's family since she was a kitten.
Pratt was one of several pet owners listed in a petition from DOPL against Blotter, of Wasatch Springs Animal Hospital.
Some of the complaints contained in the petition include “Boomer the dog” who died at Wasatch Springs when he went in for a dental cleaning where Blotter failed to intubate him, “Valter the dog” who was taken in to be neutered but died on the operating table, and “Dozer the dog” whose teeth extractions were delegated and performed by what the report calls an unlicensed assistant.
According to Pratt and the petition, she initially took Buttercup to Blotter for bloodwork, which Blotter refused to perform, but instead suggested a dental cleaning, a procedure that requires anesthesia.
In FOX 13’s interview with a licensed veterinary technician, we learned that the only way to assess if a pet’s organs are functioning properly to withstand anesthesia is to perform testing first.
That testing did not happen.
Pratt s aidafter that cleaning, Buttercup was never the same.
“She just never got her physicality back. She stopped jumping up on the couch or the bed as much or climbing up on her cat tower and just kind of being physical as much. And she lost a lot of weight,” Pratt said.
Buttercup’s last visit to Wasatch Springs was urgent. Blotter took her back for testing, but she died during the blood draw.
At the time of our report in July, Blotter faced three counts of violation of professional standards, two counts of false communications, five counts of inadequate medical records, one count of improper delegation to unlicensed personnel, and one count of pattern of incompetency or negligence.
The Department was considering the possibility of revoking or suspending Blotter’s veterinary license and ability to prescribe controlled substances in Utah.
But a few weeks after the report aired, FOX 13 learned that Blotter’s license would not be revoked or suspended.
Ellie Forrest had also learned his fate and reached out.
“I was definitely shocked that it got coverage and that anyone found it interesting or noteworthy,” Forrest said.
Forrest is listed as “E.F.” in the DOPL’s petition against Blotter under “Sam the cat.”
Forrest said Sam was more dog than cat.
“Anybody that ever met Sam, they would say, ‘I never liked cats until I met him.’ He was just super friendly, would come sit on a stranger’s lap. He would just spoon me in bed. He was just super cuddly and friendly," she said.
Forrest had established care at Wasatch Springs for Sam a few months prior to Sam’s last interaction with Dr. Blotter.
After Sam developed a persistent cough and started drinking a lot of water, Forrest took Sam in. It was an outcome that mirrors that of Pratt and Buttercup.
“The first thing that the vet said was: ‘Let’s draw blood and assess levels of things’. So, he takes Sam back into the back room to do that, isn’t gone very long and then returns with Sam wrapped in this pink towel in his arms and said he had a seizure,” Forrest said. “They were not gone very long, so we were like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Then he put Sam on the examination table and he’s limp basically.”
“They called me and said she had a seizure and her heart stopped and we had to bring her back to life with CPR,” Pratt said. “He started kind of flapping her head around — it was like he was trying to show me, 'See, she’s dead. See, she died.' I thought it was weird, but that was secondary to the emotions of how sad I was.”
Forrest submitted a detailed complaint to DOPL shortly after Sam’s death.
It includes a documented timeline of Sam’s prior visits to Wasatch Springs, details of his illness, the results of Sam’s final bloodwork and notated conversations Forrest had with Blotter after the fact.
“It just feels very disgusting, frankly,” Forrest said. “I don’t know if it was five or six animals in the petition that died in the span of a year and a half. I don’t know what the statistics are, of how many animals on average that die in a veterinarian’s care, but it feels like it’s excessive.”
What disciplinary action did DOPL take against Blotter?
According to the Department’s stipulation and order, the veterinarian of 33 years is now on probation for four years.
His license is now labeled “active on probation.” He was fined $5,000, and he’s required to be under indirect supervision by a veterinarian in good standing with the division for the entirety of the probationary period.
“I have mixed feelings about it. It could’ve been way worse. You could’ve said he’s off Scott-free, so the restrictions in place are great,” Forrest said. “I am in a certain sense satisfied with that result, and on the other hand, I do think it’s too light. I do think that he should’ve lost his license. I think the maximum amount of fine he could’ve paid is $10,000. He got $5,000 and I asked why so, I do think it’s too light.”
For Forrest, Sam’s absence is a void that hasn’t been filled and may never be.
“It was really hard. I don’t think that we’ve ever gotten over it,” said Forrest. “I don’t know that I would say this feels like justice. It just feels like a door we’re trying to close, it just won’t close.”
Blotter had a probationary interview with the veterinary physicians licensing board at the end of last week.
During that meeting, Blotter was found to be non-compliant with the stipulation and order he signed last month.
He is stipulated to be under indirect supervision by a licensed vet approved by the board.
He is also stipulated to have 20 percent of his records for animals he treats audited by a supervisor for the first six months of his probation.
Blotter had taken no action on either of those stipulations.
FOX 13 asked the Department what typically happens when an individual is found to be non-compliant.
They say depending on the severity of the violation, it could include revocation of a license, but that doesn’t typically happen during the initial probationary interview.
FOX 13 also asked how the Department came to the decision about his license.
They said: “We consider evidence gathered from many sources and weigh it against past actions taken by DOPL.”
If you want to check any professional’s license in the state, visit DOPL’s website here.