Thomas McMICHAEL DVM

One of the best Veterinarians in the Area! I highly recommend him. When we bring our dogs he examines them carefully and explains everything, he takes his time with all patients. His advise has always been wise.

Thomas McMichael is the owner and Head Vet of College Park Animal Hospital. The veterinarian who treated our cat, Smokey, at College Park Animal Hospital (not Thomas McMichael himself) received a formal letter of censure concerning his "failure to recognize cardiomegaly and increased pulmonary interstitial pattern on the thoracic radiographs taken of Smokey on January 8, 2008." This excerpt is from an October 29, 2009 letter from the Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, addressed to my wife. The letter goes on to state that prior to accepting censure, this veterinarian "participated in classes offered at a regional conference as a means of improving his ability to read readiographs and ultrasounds." The letter from the State Board also stated that a letter of censure is a matter of public record.



Clients of this hospital are still urged to to BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS, especially with elderly pets, who may be exhibiting signs of a heart disease. Even though one of the veterinarians at College Park Animal Hospital received this additional training, there is no evidence of any such training completed by the others, particularly the owner and the head vet of the hospital, Thomas McMichael, DVM, who apparently believes that congestive heart failure cannot be seen on an X-ray, as per his statement to my wife when she questioned Smokey's treatment. The fact that the primary diagnostic tool for Congestive Heart Failure is an X-ray is a very basic medical fact, and any veterinarian who does not know this basic fact cannot adequately ensure the safety of a pet at risk for heart disease.

Thomas McMichael owns College Park Animal Hospital. My experience with his was not good. In fact it was quite disturbing because in my opinion and experience he was dishonest and disrespectful towards humans and heartless towards animals. in early 2008 my old cat, Smokey, became very ill. I took him to CPAH three times and twice to the ER. CPAH missed a serious and potentially life threatening heart condition in Smokey, even though it was obvious on the X-ray taken by one of its vets (recognized immediately on the same X-ray by the emergency vet and later by a Tufts vet). As a result, Smokey deteriorated quickly without any medication for over two weeks. Alarmed by Smokey's symptoms, I began doing reading on the Internet, which led me to believe that Smokey might have a serious heart disease and should be treated urgently. I called CPAH, and one of the vets there agreed to put Smokey on rescue medication and refer him to a cardiologist. The medication started helping Smokey right away. The question is: why was I the one who had to determine that Smokey needed this medication, and not the vet? The heart condition could have been probably treated more successfully if given when it was first obvious on the X-ray. Smokey died on January 29th at the ER after a sedative was administered to him.



One of the veterinarians treating Smokey at CPAH admitted missing the condition, but the other one and the owner of the hospital refuse to acknowledge that mistakes were made. To add insult to injury, Dr. McMichael, the owner and head vet at CPAH, became defensive and vindictive against me and my family. He stated that Smokey's heart diseases, congestive heart failure (CHF), was not detected on the X-ray taken at CPAH because CHF cannot be seen on an X-ray. This is incorrect: X-ray is one of the main tools in diagnosing CHF, and any basic medical and veterinary text will say so. When I confronted Dr. McMichael, he began stonewalling. He refused to release Smokey's records and X-rays to me when I showed up to pick them up on a date agreed upon between me and his staff. He also stopped allowing me and my whole family (including my son's girlfriend) to come onto the premises in order to volunteer with rescued dogs cared for at CPAH, leaving these dogs without the walks and socialization that the four of us had been providing to them prior to the incident.



This is a very sad experience because we trusted the veterinarians at CPAH to keep our pet safe. We also trusted them to have the best interest of homeless animals at heart, as they claim to be "rescue friendly." We trusted them to have the personal and professional integrity to own up to their mistakes, should they happen. Our trust has been irrevocably betrayed.



We are now active in an advocacy for pets' safety at the vet's. We urge pet owners to never blindly trust their vet, any vet.