Veterinary Medicine

A Sick, Twisted Tale: A Dog-Napped Yorkie Named Gizmo and an (Allegedly) Wicked Stepmother -- Disney, Eat Your Heart Out.

It was the note seen 'round the world -- er, well, at least 'round Texas, anyway: The owners of a Yorkie named Gizmo, who had been missing for two weeks, received a note purporting to be from a woman who said she had found the dog (sans tag) at a gas station and decided to give him to her 14-year-ol ... More >>

Some Veterinarians Just Shouldn't Use Meth...

There are a few crucial qualities that pet owners might seek in a veterinarian: experience, bedside manner, a natural love of animals. "Crippling meth addiction" would probably rank toward the bottom of the list. But that's just what former Dallas-area vet David Snyder had, and it led to his 44-yea ... More >>

Retired Lab Chimps Pressed Back Into Service

A San Antonio lab says primate research is necessary for curing diseases like AIDS and hepatitis. But what progress has really been made.

James Rollins: The Devil Colony

Controversial Ex-BARC Vet Accused Of Botching Surgeries (With Graphic Photos)

Sad kitten is sad​A veterinarian who left the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care after he was caught dispensing controlled substances without proper registration is now accused of botching routine surgeries on four kittens last week at his new job at a low-cost clinic. Marie Melancon told H ... More >>

Pet Sounds

Animal psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick hears voices - the dog and cat kind.

Cover Story: Pet Psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick (Including Exclusive Video)

​Sonya Fitzpatrick, as documented in this week's cover story, knows what your dog, cat, bird or frog is thinking. If you happen to have a bear or tiger as a pet, the famous animal communicator could let you know what those beasts are feeling, too. Before the world's most celebrated pet psych ... More >>

Underground Footage From a Texas Dairy Farm (Not for the Weak of Stomach)

Undercover footage from a dairy farm southwest of Amarillo shows workers crushing sick and injured calves' skulls with pickaxes and hammers, and tossing dying calves on a pile of dead ones in the back of a truck -- acts that one animal welfare group says violates state cruelty laws. Gathered by ... More >>

NFL -- James Harrison And A Funny Sex Story

They misspelled "Harrison"​According to a March 2009 study, the average veterinarian in the United States makes $93,398 per year. According to foxsports.com, James Harrison is set to make $13,357,280 for playing football in 2010. Harrison might want to make note of these statistics if he's serio ... More >>

Texas Veterinarians: Horse Teeth Floaters Are Breaking the Law

Takes on a whole new meaning with horse teeth floaters​Who knew that in one week Hair Balls would write not one, but TWO stories about horse teeth floaters and live to tell about it.As we discussed on Thursday, Libertarians rallied in Austin on Friday to protest changes to rules that could negativ ... More >>

Libertarians Rally for Horse Teeth Floaters

Damnit, Wilbur, fix my ugly ass grill!In what is apparently the worst government over-regulation since monkeys were banned from grinding organs for a living (damn you, Organ Grinders Local 182!!!), the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners is meeting to decide whether the important job of hors ... More >>

BARC Sued By Another Whistleblower; Still Stonewalling On Releasing Information

You said you would change, BARC​A former Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care employee filed a whistleblower suit against the City of Houston Tuesday, claiming she was fired after she notified investigators of animal cruelty and record-tampering. Hope Bennett's complaint states that she  ... More >>

Gil Costas: Fired BARC Whistleblower Gets $70K From The City

Photo by blue_sharpieThis guy's got questions​Houston City Council members Wednesday approved a $70,000 settlement with a former Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care veterinarian who filed a whistleblower suit against the city in 2009.Gil Costas was fired in February 2009 for what a BARC spokesper ... More >>

BARC Vet Who Helped In Controversial Case Has A Reprimand On Her Record

​The Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care's chief vet, who was instrumental in the decision to operate in-house on a severely injured dog -- who did not survive surgery -- was reprimanded by Virginia's veterinary board in 2007.According to documents filed with the Virgina's Department of Health Pr ... More >>

A Dog With Horrible Eye Injuries Creates BARC Controversy

​With a history of mismanagement, reckless disregard and outright abuse under its belt, the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care has its work cut out for it when it comes to righting wrongs.Houston's devoted and vocal animal rescue community has been integral in instituting a change in command -- ... More >>

BARC Fires a Vet, But Hey It's All Good

Photo by Squid​Houston's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care fired a veterinarian Thursday, but Interim Bureau Chief Gerry Fusco said two part-time vets will cover those hours so there will be no lag in services. Fusco and Janice Evans, communications director for Mayor Annise Parker, ... More >>

City Is Trying To Scare Up BARC Funds By Hassling Veterinarians, One Says

Photo by riquard​In a move to raise revenue for a new adoption center, the City of Houston is ordering veterinarians to provide clients' names and their pets' licensing information. According to a September 28 letter from Administrative and Regulatory Affairs Director Alfred Moran to&nbs ... More >>

Former BARC Vet Sues City Over His Firing

​Veterinarian Gil Costas, fired from the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care last February for an alleged registration violation, has sued the City under the Texas Whistleblower Act.Filed today, the suit accuses the city of "trying to hurriedly squelch Dr. Costas and discredit him" after Costa ... More >>

A Shake-Up At BARC, For Better Or Worse

​BARC went through some housecleaning yesterday -- in a big way.In addition to the firing of veterinarian Eunice Ohashiegbula-Iwunze, other BARC personnel issues Wednesday included the resignation of Administrative Supervisor Dorian Strickland and a "disciplinary procedure in process" for vet tech ... More >>

Complain About BARC, Find Yourself Charged With A Crime

Photo by bf_photos The Harris County District Attorney's Office has charged a BARC volunteer for filing a false police report regarding animal abuse he said he heard while at the city's animal control facility. Shelby Kibodeaux was charged July 1 with the class B misdemeanor, which ca ... More >>

A Q&A With The Man Who Oversees BARC Leaves More Q's Than A's

Photo by mary_thompsonWhen it comes to the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, Stephen Williams is a man who does not like to dwell on the past. As the director of Houston's Department of Health and Human Services, he said in an interview Monday that while he was aware of years of criticism of BAR ... More >>

More BARC News: The Hammer Comes Down On Two Vets

Photo by maarjaara The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has fined BARC Chief Veterinarian Eunice Ohashiegbula and former BARC vet David Rundell for violating U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Texas Veterinary Licensing Act requirements. In Texas, veterinarians who dispense cont ... More >>

An Interview With The New Head Of BARC: This Time, Things Really, Really Will be Fixed. Really

Photo by Craig MalisowAs BARC's new bureau chief, Ray Sim has his work cut out for him. He now heads an organization that has historically resisted change and ostracized volunteers who have made claims of cruel conditions, with the full support of an administration and city council that believes the ... More >>

BARC Down To Its Last Vet

Photo by Daniel KramerVeterinarian David Rundell resigned today from the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, spokeswoman Kathy Barton confirmed. Nicole Sica at the Houston Examiner was the first on the story.  Rundell was suspended with pay three weeks ago for allegedly treating a sick d ... More >>

Much-Loved Veterinarian Fired by BARC

Photo by Daniel KramerGil Costas, a part-time veterinarian at Houston's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, was fired today for lack of state-mandated certification, Houston Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Kathy Barton told Hair Balls. The news was originally broken by Nicole Sica, editor o ... More >>

BARC Sucks

The city's animal shelter just can't get its act together

BARC's Head Vet Wasn't Just Reprimanded Once

No doubt many of Houston's animal-advocacy community are up in arms over this morning's Chron story on BARC's head vet, Eunice Ohashiegbula-Iwunze, who had her license suspended in New Jersey.But we at Hair Balls were a little more understanding - really, who hasn't accidentally killed people's dogs ... More >>

Jake Johannsen

A Letterman favorite drops into The Improv

Your Animals Are Probably Bitching About Ike, Too

Country Time

Horsing around at a feed store happy hour

Horse Flesh

Texas struggles with what to do with its overabundance of Equus caballus, while Europeans wait with open mouths

Vanity Plates

The perfect gift for the pet that has -- ahem -- almost everything

Kitty Litter

Toyya Braskey lives with 100 cats. They are her life. Now the city says they have to go.

In the Doghouse

An animal typically has three days before he leaves the city pound, dead or alive. What happens during that time continues to cause concern.

Best Whistle-Blower

Sam Levingston

Best Pet Pharmacy

BCP Veterinary Pharmacy

Strange Fruit

People pay lots more for organic produce, but are they getting their money's worth?

Best Veterinarian

Southside Place Animal Hospital

Blaming the Barn Door

A new report rips into claims that racehorse Alydar's wounds were self-inflicted

Cloning for Cash

A&M's pet project spawns a company to mix DNA with possible IPOs

Out at the Zoo

Embattled director Olson departs as signs of reform arrive

News of the Weird

Bungle in the Jungle

Beneath the pretty facade of the Houston Zoo lies a world where animals, and their keepers, are being shortchanged

All Good Dogs Go to Heaven

The connection between pets and their owners doesn't necessarily end with death

Beastly Behavior

Wildlife rehabilitator Vivian Steele got along fine with animals. It's people who gave her trouble.