California Veterinary Medical Board
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 2250
Sacramento, CA 95815
January 27, 2010
Reference Case No. AV 2002 3
Dear Board Members,
Thank you for this opportunity to address the California Veterinary Medical Board Members. My name is John Belluardo. I am the spokesperson for the Friends of Dr. Galvin, a group of several hundred people who represent Dr. Chuck Galvin’s 20,000clients. I have also been a client of Dr. Galvin’s for the past 17 years and although I have not lived in Marin County for the past 10 years, it has been well worth the drive of one-and-a-half hours each way from my home in Danville so my dogs could receive the best care possible in the Bay Area which was provided by Dr. Galvin. I know all of his clients feel the same way that no distance is too far for their pets to see Dr. Galvin. Because of his tremendous skills, Dr. Galvin has clients from Southern California and even out of state.
An unintentional consequence of Dr. Galvin’s revocation has been the tremendous void for skilled care this has created in the animal community not only for his clients and their individual pets, but also for the numerous non-profit animal rescue organizations which relied on him exclusively to perform incredible amounts of pro bono services. Further, Dr. Galvin routinely performed successful surgeries that most veterinarians would fail if they were even attempted. Quite frankly, the vast majority of Dr. Galvin’s clients, based on previous unsatisfactory experiences with other veterinarians, are now faced with sub-standard care at exhorbitant prices.
I hope you will listen carefully to my remarks with an open mind and embrace both the sincerety, and just as importantly, the perhaps unexpected message of reconciliation. We have not come to re-try the case – Dr. Galvin had his day in court and lost.
When we learned in October 2009 that Dr. Galvin’s license was to be revoked effective Nov. 6, 2009, we were angry and felt betrayed by you – the agency that was supposed to protect our pets – not deprive us of the most highly-respected veterinarian in the Bay Area. In a last attempt to save Dr. Galvin’s license, 75 people accompanied by 25 pets held peaceful protests on Oct. 29 in Sacramento at the offices of the Veterinary Board, Attorney General, and Governor. Executive Officer Sue Geranen, to her credit, met with the group and listened to our oncerns. However, we were shocked and disappointed again when she told us that more than 1,000 letters of support written by Dr. Galvin’s clients were never officially considered during the court proceedings simply because they did not specifically reference Case No. AV 2002 3. Since that discovery, all of our letters have referenced that case number. Sue Geranen also told me we should continue to reference that case number regarding subsequent letters supporting the petition Dr. Galvin will file for reinstatement when he is eligible in November 2010. I would like to add that Sue has been professional and cooperative during this ordeal and that is appreciated by our group. Please consider this as a formal request that I be notified immediately if there is a change in how to submit letters that will be taken into account supporting Dr. Galvin’s petition.
Now, with the passage of time, we are better able to understand why you chose to revoke Dr. Galvin’s license. We understand that you made your decision based on the information that was presented to you. More than 100 people have come here today to support Dr. Galvin. We have tremendous respect for the importance and difficulty of your position as protectors of the public. By the same token, we are the public and as clients for as long as 40 years, none of us would be here today if we thought for a moment that Dr. Galvin ever commtted animal cruelty.
It was unfortunate that Dr. Galvin’s attorney failed to sufficiently distinguish fact from fiction regarding the original allegations of animal cruelty brought by a few disgruntled former employees whose motivation was monetary or revenge for being fired. However, it is noteworthy that two Marin County Judges, Lynn Duryee andJohn Richie, both ruled in favor of Dr. Galvin, although he eventually lost the case on appeal.
We have come to respectfully request that you grant Dr. Galvin’s petition for reinstatement when he is eligible in November 2010. We know the action you take will not be based on a popularity contest, but the people here today are a testament to the tremendous respect and confidence they have, not only in Dr. Galvin’s extraordinary professional skills, but in his character as a person of uncommon caring, compassion, and gentleness with our pets.
We know that Dr. Galvin is not perfect and he has made mistakes. We also know that, ultimately, Dr. Galvin will determine his own fate. You determined that Dr. Galvin should be disciplined – that has been accomplished – revocation is the most severe punishment possible. In that respect, how a person deals with adversity is the true measure of a person’s character and is properly viewed as a challenge and an opportunity to help others.
You will be interested to know that Dr. Galvin has had a monumental change in attitude. He now understands and accepts responsibility for his actions and is remorseful. Because Dr. Galvin is a skilled veterinarian, he is very capable, but more importantly, willing to no longer practice techniques which could be viewed or construed as inappropriate to the welfare of animals. If allowed to resume his practice, he will utilize only those techniques which are approved by the Veterinary Board when restraint is necessary. He also now fully understands and believes it is his responsibility to comply with all administrative requirements as well.
In this new spirit of compliance and cooperation, Dr. Galvin has already begun his rehabilitation. He is contacting several local social service agencies to volunteer his time and talents towards helping the underpriviledged and handicapped in the community. He is also going to take additional anger management classes to address the Board’s concerns regarding his temperament. Dr. Galvin also now welcomes the opportunity to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to demonstrate to the Board that his emotions are properly under control. Further, he will paticipate in continuing education seminars, etc. to stay current in his field.
Dr. Galvin will use this one year period of revocation to rehabilitate himself to the point where you will be proud to once again call him your colleague. In closing, I ask you to consider a quotation from English poet Alexander Pope who said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.”
Again, thank you for your kind consideration of this matter.
John Belluardo
Friends of Dr. Galvin
P.O. Box 2931
Danville, CA 94526
(925) 683-1114
