Boulder City Animal Hospital

700 Nevada Highway

Boulder City, Nv 89005
702-294-0001

Randy S. Stanton, DVM

Tucker Barton, DVM
Judith Van Der Walt, DVM

November 17th, 2011

Boulder City City Council
401 California Avenue
Boulder City, NV 89005
Dear Council Member:
I am writing this letter in response to the events surrounding the euthanasia of Bo Hance by
Animal Control Officer Mary Jo Frazier.
As you are aware, on October 25th of this year, Bo Hance was found by Boulder City Police
Department in what appeared to be an injured state. Animal Control Officer Mary Jo Frazier was
called and picked up Bo from the police station at approximately 6:30 PM and drove him to
the animal control facility, where she later euthanized him, in violation of a city ordinance
requiring her to seek veterinary attention.
While transporting what was considered to be an injured animal, Ms. Frazier avoided seeking
veterinary attention from our office, which was open until 7 PM that evening and was much
closer to the police station than the animal control facility. To make matters worse, we had just
renegotiated a new agreement with the city at the beginning of the year, in which Ms. Frazier
was involved in and therefore clearly understood that we have an agreement with the city.
On the morning after Ms. Frazier euthanized Bo, Mr. Hance came to the animal control facility
to identify and claim Bo. He arranged for Bos immediate cremation through the crematory
service, La Paloma. While en route to the animal control facility, Paul Butterfield of La
Paloma was contacted by Ms. Frazier informing him that the cremation was to be delayed in lieu
of a necropsy (autopsy) to be performed. . Knowing this was contrary to Mr. Hances wishes,
Mr. Butterfield insisted that Ms. Frazier contact Mr. Hance immediately about the change in
plans. Ms. Frazier said she would do this immediately. THIS WAS NOT DONE. By not
informing the Hances of the impending necropsy, the City violated their rights and, at most, did
so with possible legal consequences or, at minimum, displayed unethical behavior. To make
matters worse, even though the City had agreements with both local veterinary facilities, Bo
was taken to the City of Henderson and Animal Control Officer, Dr. Gary Weddle, a veterinarian,
performed a necropsy on Bo. Once this was done, Bos body was cremated and only then
were the Hances informed of the necropsy. They were not given the right for an outside party to
perform an exam on their behalf. Police Chief Finn announced to the public that they went to an
outside source for the necropsy in order to be objective, but clearly the departments actions were
not in the best interest of the community, lacking transparency and objectivity.
It is also important that I talk about several issues that you may not be aware of. I have had an
agreement since 1986 with the City of Boulder to take care of injured or ill animals, while under
the Citys care, at reduced rates. Often, the City is able to collect the cost of these fees from the

owner of the pet once they are found. It became apparent to me and my colleagues that during
Ms. Fraziers tenure, that the care of injured and ill animals by our hospital for the City had
greatly declined. In the fall of 2010, I approached the City Manager, Vicki Mayes, on this
matter, showing through our records that Animal Control had not sought the care of a single
injured and/or ill animal from us in over 12 months. This was unusual in that Animal Control
has a dozen plus animals under their supervision at any given time.
This conversation initiated a series of discussions, a renegotiation of our agreement and
eventually, discussions between myself and Mayor Roger Tobler about these issues. There was
also a letter exchange between Police Chief Finn and myself over this subject. Copies of these
letters are enclosed for your review along with one involving Ms. Mayes.
It is important to note that since our revised agreement, Animal Control has requested services
from our hospital twice. On May 5th of this year, in order to perform a special procedure for a
rabies testing on a dead coyote. The other incident occurred on May 17th, involving a two year
old, declawed, male neutered cat that was brought in by the Park Service, full of cactus quills.
As per the Citys agreement with the Park Service, the cats treatment fell under the Citys
control. In this case, we immediately contacted Animal Control to gain permission to anesthetize
the cat and remove the cactus quills along with treating him to prevent infection and pain
management. The Animal Control Officer would not give permission to do this at first. Instead,
she arrived later in the morning. She examined the cat, which simply could not move due to the
number of quills present over its entire body (well over a hundred) and was in obvious
discomfort. The Animal Control Officer asked if she couldnt just take the cat in its current
condition and leave it in a cage at Animal Control for several days. The doctor on duty stated to
the officer that it would be inhumane and cruel to do so. Even then, the Animal Control Officer
wouldnt approve any treatments without an estimate. Only once the estimate of $158 for
services which included the exam, anesthesia, removal of the quills, pain injection and long-term
antibiotic injection was given to the officer, did she relent and agree to the procedure. That
officer was Mary Jo Frazier.
In conclusion, it is my opinion that the situation surrounding Bo Hances euthanasia was not an
isolated incident. Ms. Fraziers deliberate violation of city ordinance in not seeking veterinary
care followed by the Citys reluctance to inform the Hances of the necropsy until after it was
performed and the cremation was complete, along with the clear history of lack of care of injured
or ill animals during Ms. Fraziers tenure as Head of Animal Control needs further investigation
by this council. I strongly believe that, due to these events, the police department is incapable of
objectively reviewing this matter as they have shown a lack of desire to be transparent about the
issues surrounding the euthanasia of Bo Hance. If you have any further questions, please feel
free to contact me at (702) 335-1533.
Sincerely Yours,
Randy Stanton, DVM

CC: Vicki Mayes, City Manager

Dave Olson, City Attorney