Farm & Family Veterinary Clinic in Brooklyn, Iowa. (Photo via Google Earth)
A veterinary technician who allegedly stole drugs from the clinic where she worked and a rural veterinarian accused of unlawfully distributing controlled substances have been sanctioned by the state.
According to the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine, veterinary technician Katherine Schwartz repeatedly stole prescription drugs from the clinic where she worked. The drugs, which Schwartz allegedly took for her personal use, included codeine, Zorbium and hydrocodone.
The board alleges that several signs of possible substance abuse by Schwartz were discovered during its investigation of the matter, and it alleged she had deleted security-camera footage from the clinic and stolen a key to a drug safe at the clinic.
According to the board, Schwartz has admitted the theft.
The board has not disclosed where or when the alleged thefts took place, or where Schwartz lives, although police records indicate she lives in Solon and the thefts occurred at the Animal Kingdom Veterinary Clinic, 620 Liberty Way, North Liberty.
According to the board, Schwartz was charged with unlawful possession of a prescription drug, a serious misdemeanor, and at some point pleaded guilty to the charge.
There are no public court records related to the criminal case, most likely because of the deferred judgment that the board says she was granted at sentencing. A deferred judgment typically results in a conviction being wiped from public court records after the successful completion of probation.
Citing the alleged conviction, the board charged Schwartz with knowingly making misleading or untrue representations in the practice of the profession; committing an act contrary to honesty, justice or good morals, and an inability to practice veterinary medicine with reasonable skill and safety.
In order to resolve the case, the board agreed to a settlement that placed Schwartz’s veterinary technician certification on probation for the duration of her criminal case probation, which appears to have already been terminated. During her probation, Schwartz was required to submit to monthly testing for substance abuse.
Although the board entered into the agreement with Schwartz in April, the charges against her and the settlement were made public only this week in response to a formal request for access to the records.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to locate Schwartz for comment.
Brooklyn vet sanctioned by board
Another veterinary board case from April that was first made public this week involves Eric Smith, a veterinarian from the Farm & Family Veterinary Clinic in Brooklyn, Iowa.
In April, the board charged Smith with violating a law related to the practice of veterinary medicine, willful or repeated failure to conform to acceptable standards of practice, and willful or repeated violations of the law or state regulations.
The charges stem from actions taken last year by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, which issued an emergency order suspending Smith’s pharmacy license, stating he posed “an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare.” The board also charged Smith with four counts of alleged violations of Iowa laws governing the practice of pharmacy and the distribution of drugs.
In the pharmacy board case, Smith eventually agreed to have his pharmacy license placed on probation for two years and pay a $1,000 civil penalty.
The veterinary board reported that in March 2024, it fielded a complaint that alleged Smith was providing controlled substances to a dog breeding operation, rather than to the individual canine patients, without proper documentation or detailed records documenting the distribution of the drugs.
As with the pharmacy board case, the veterinary board’s case against Smith was resolved with a settlement agreement that imposes a two-year period of probation on his license and a $1,000 civil penalty.
Smith did not immediately return a call to his clinic on Tuesday.
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