Alley Cat Allies
A two-judge panel has made the recommendation that Kristen Lindsey, the veterinarian who is infamously known for shooting a cat in the head with an arrow and bragging about on social media in April 2015, lose her license for one year and then serve four years of probation for using the bow and arrow on a cat she claimed was feral.
Judges Catherine Egan and Pratibba Shenoy also recommended that Lindsey attend continuing education classes on animal cruelty and veterinary law. They suggest she serve 100 hours of volunteer hours at a cat rescue organization or spay/neuter clinic. They presided over the two-day hearing earlier this summer.
The cat who was killed was determined to belong to Lindsey’s neighbors, Bill and Claire Johnson. The Johnson’s expressed that Lindsey made a mistake and had suffered greatly by losing her job at the Washington Animal Clinic, Texas, within days of her posting the photo to facebook. They feel she has endured the flood of vitriolic public opinion. They stated everyone makes mistakes and this could be a growing experience for her.
The judges decision was partly based on what the Johnson’s had to say.
The judges also recommended that Lindsey be allowed to practice again on a probationary basis after one full year of suspension.
The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners approve a revocation of Kristen Lindsey’s veterinary license one year ago.
The Board is not bound by what the administrative law judges’ decision but will take it into consideration when members meet as early as October 18th when they will issue a final decision.
Lindsey’s attorney, Brian Bishop, plans to appeal if she is blocked from practicing veterinary medicine.
Alley Cat Allies has stated from the beginning of this case that Kristen Lindsey’s veterinary license should be revoked and she should never again care for cats or other animals,” said Misty Christo, Alley Cat Allies’ lead attorney on the case. “Animal owners who may not know about her history have a right to be protected from mistakenly entrusting their own animals into her care.”
Christo also said that Alley Cat Allies disagrees with the judges’ characterization of Lindsey as “an otherwise competent veterinarian who made a single, serious mistake of judgment.
“The judges’ recommended punishment is far from adequate for the torture that Kristen Lindsey inflicted on Tiger as she killed him,” Christo said. “She blatantly violated the Veterinarian’s Oath for the ‘prevention and relief of animal suffering’ and should lose her license forever.”
“We are pleased that the judges at least recognize that her actions were unacceptable and deserve punishment. This alone is a win in Alley Cat Allies’ work to ensure that animal cruelty cases are treated with the serious consideration they deserve,” said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies.
Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer and animal advocate. She hosts the show, ” A Close-Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.” Have a story, please email Tina at tevangelistaepp@yahoo. Like my tv page at https://www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookAtAnimalWelfareIssues and check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com for all the tv shows you may have missed!
Maybe she should be given a second chance. She said she would never shoot a ‘feral” cat again. Tiger’s owners want her to have a second chance. This was a monstrous mistake. Not sure if we saw how sorry she really is. We’ll know soon enough. Why did she have to be so unprofessional and post a picture of the cat with the arrow in his head and be funny about it. I think she needs psychological counseling. No vet should act like that.
Revoke her license! She showed no remorse for killing Tiger so brutally! Then she takes a selfie! No way!!! Texas Board- listen to the people. Don’t give her license back. The rule is “first do no harm..” She laughed in the face of that statement!
I just can’t stand her smug face. She thinks she did nothing wrong. I’m sure she can find work doing something else. You reap what you sow or should I say kill.
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!! Get the picture?
revoke her license as it was originally decided.
She needs to be revoke permanent, no animal deserve to be killed that way. Plus she need to have something on her record that she and animal abuser so people will know about her. She knew what she was doing was wrong and she still did. There is no excuse for that. She needs to go to work at McDonald’s for rest of her life and stay out of animal vets and clinics
I disagree. She murdered a pet cat and enjoyed it. A vet shouldn’t enjoy killing a domesticated animal. Something terribly wrong with that.
This woman needs to have her license revoked. Their oath is first do no harm. She not only harmed/killed the pet cat, she happily took a photo and was so proud of her kill! Who would want her to help their cat? She made her unfortunate choice to kill a pet cat now she needs to pay the consequences. It also doesn’t matter if the cat was feral or not. I thought a vet of all people would have more compassion. Her behavior when she did spoke volumes of her character.
Don’t let her keep her veterinary license. She’s not responsible enough for the job anymore.
She definitely needs counseling if she ever wants to go back to veterinary medicine. A vet take an oath of first, do no harm. She certainly didn’t follow that vital step.
Don’t you think she has learned her lesson? Do you honestly think she’s going to repeat her reprehensible mistake? I don’t.
That is so incredibly unbelievable! Who will ever trust to take their pets to her? I wouldn’t.