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Wednesday, September 05, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CHARGES FILED: Authorities: Cat doctor not licensed

Man accused of illegally killing 210 felines

A Las Vegas man associated with a no-kill cat sanctuary has been charged with posing as a veterinarian and illegally killing 210 cats.

The state attorney general's office filed the charges Tuesday against Sam Ockene, who is affiliated with For the Love of Cats and Kittens, also known as F.L.O.C.K.

The Southern Nevada organization, whose stated mission is to rescue feral and stray cats, operates a Sloan sanctuary that is billed as no-kill, meaning no healthy abandoned animals are destroyed.

Deputy Attorney General Matthew Dushoff, who dubbed Ockene the "Doctor Kevorkian of cats and kittens," said some of the cats Ockene is accused of killing were provided to the defendant by F.L.O.C.K. He was not certain of the exact number.

F.L.O.C.K. Treasurer Janet Differ said Ockene worked as a volunteer for the organization. She said he told her he was licensed by the state as a veterinary euthanasia technician.

"His license hangs in his garage," Differ said. She acknowledged she had not personally seen it.

According to the state Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, Ockene has never been licensed in this state as a veterinarian or veterinary technician.

Authorities contend that Ockene gave lethal injections to 210 cats and kittens between Aug. 4, 1998, and Feb. 22, 2001. The cats ranged in age from 2 days old to 18 years old, Dushoff said.

Differ said she believes the state is pursuing charges against Ockene because he's made an enemy somewhere.

"Sam is a real tactless person. He is a real pain in the butt sometimes, especially when he's right. And I feel that kind of person makes a lot of enemies," she said.

Differ said Ockene only euthanized cats who were too ill or in too much pain to be treated.

"He (Ockene) did not euthanize casually," Differ said. "He didn't care a lot about people, but he cared about the cats."

Asked if the cats were ill and required euthanization, Dushoff said he didn't know. "I don't think he (Ockene) knew either, because he wasn't a vet," Dushoff said.

He said the investigation was launched in response to a tip received by the state Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

State investigators in February searched a trailer that Dushoff said served as Ockene's veterinarian facility.

The prosecutor, who said he did not know if Ockene profited from his activities, said the trailer was parked outside Ockene's home at 604 Bloomingfield Lane.

Inside the trailer, investigators found 13 cats and three dogs, an operating table, syringes, animal medication, authorization labels to perform euthanasia, testing kits and other veterinarian supplies.

Dushoff said Ockene obtained animal medications, including the controlled substances used to euthanize the cats, from James Reilly, a licensed veterinarian in Pahrump. No charges have been filed against Reilly.

Differ confirmed that Reilly is the veterinarian who in 1994 was beaten and left for dead by his business partner and fellow veterinarian Alan Ruegamer. Ruegamer was found guilty of attempted murder in 1998 and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Practicing veterinary medicine without a license carries a potential five-year prison term and a fine of $5,000. Each misdemeanor charge of killing an animal carries a possible sentence of six months.