The Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners is trying to revoke the license of a veterinarian who incurred the wrath of animal lovers worldwide when she killed a cat with a bow and arrow and boasted about it on Facebook.
The board submitted the case Wednesday to the State Office of Administrative Hearings after Kristen Lindsey, DVM, did not respond to a revocation recommendation sent to her attorney, board spokeswoman Loris Jones said.
Under state law, the lack of a response means the case will go to an administrative law judge for further action.
The license revocation was decided during a closed board meeting in August, but the next step may not take place until 2016 at the State Office of Administrative Hearings, Jones said.
“We’re kind of at their mercy as far as scheduling goes,” Jones said. “Since we’re not the only state agency that they have to help out, between their busy caseload and the holidays coming up we do not foresee anything being set until early February.”
The Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has not revealed which codes or rules Dr. Lindsey was found to have violated.
Lindsey’s attorney could not be reached to comment.
The veterinarian avoided criminal charges in June when a grand jury did not find enough evidence to justify prosecution. License revocation is a regulatory matter.
Lindsey drew attention in April when she shot her neighbor’s cat, Tiger, and posted a photo of herself holding up the dead animal, an arrow piercing its head.
“My first bow kill … lol,” she commented on Facebook. “The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it’s [sic] head! Vet of the year award … gladly accepted.”
She was fired from her job at Washington Animal Clinic in Brenham, Texas.
Reaction to the killing was instantaneous. Online petitions seeking her prosecution were launched, social media websites exploded with furious comments, and veterinary organizations weighed in.
The American Veterinary Medical Association commented in April that the group was “shocked and appalled” and “disturbed that this situation undermines the public trust and credibility that veterinarians have earned and so richly deserve.”
The Texas Veterinary Medical Association stated that it “strongly condemn[ed] the actions.”
Lindsey’s alma mater, Colorado State University, spoke of the “deeply disturbing news” and its hope “that the case will be appropriately adjudicated.”
