Skip to main contentSometimes, late at night, as we scramble through the avalanche of paperwork blanketing the Rogue Desk, we hear a small, still voice whispering our name through the gloom. Then we take a tiny nip of Old Crow and focus on the matter at hand--the case of Lake Oswego veterinarian Dr. Grant Maurer, one of Oregon's top veterinary ophthalmologists, a master of the scalpel, who became, unfortunately, a slave to the bottle.
According to the Veterinary Medical Examining Board, Dr. Maurer was first cited for driving under the influence in June 1991. He was cited again in September 1992, and again in July 1995. He promised not to drink for two years, handed over his driver's license--and was arrested for drunk driving barely a month later. He managed to rack up not one but two more arrests in September 2000--the second time blowing a .20 (more than twice the legal limit) after telling a police officer he was coming home from the office.
Declaring that Dr. Maurer posed "a serious danger to public health and safety," the board suspended his veterinary license in May. But the good doctor will probably get it back, thanks to a bizarre decision by the Oregon Supreme Court.
Last month, the state's top judges declared that a Klamath Falls realtor named Harold Dearborn should not be deprived of his broker's license just because he was caught trolling for men in the mission district, plying them with pot, coke and meth, and having sex with them. (His adventures came to light after a 16-year-old runaway accused him of trading drugs for sex.) Dearborn kept his license because his offenses had nothing to do with real estate.
Dr. Maurer presents a similar dilemma. He admits he drove drunk, but says his boozing never harmed his patients--and apparently, the board has no evidence to the contrary. He insists he "never, ever" drank at work and says he lied to the police officer about coming back from the office two years ago because he panicked and didn't know what else to say. He says he hasn't touched a drop since April. "I take full responsibility for my actions," he told WW. "I just want an opportunity to prove myself."
What this all boils down to is that the board will probably let Dr. Maurer out of the doghouse when it meets Nov. 17. Are we outraged? A bit. But after another drop of the Old Crow, we might feel better.
WWeek 2015