DR. JOEL Joseph, who first came to Guam many years ago as Dr. Joel Schiff, has been a subject of controversy pretty much since he first arrived.

He came to our island from Michigan, where he operated an owl and ferret clinic which appeared to specialize in unusual exotic pets. He first joined the veterinary clinic of Dr. Rebecca Dias. Within months, he was having differences with Dr. Dias which ultimately led to his departure from that clinic. After that, he landed with the Southern Comfort Ranch for a time, looking after an assortment of animals including jungle cats, reptiles, tropical birds and horses.

Somewhere along the line, he changed his name from Schiff to Joseph, and opened his Wise Owl Animal Hospital. It quickly became the largest and busiest veterinary facility on Guam, because he charged less than the other veterinarians for basic services – a lot less, we understand. That didn’t endear him to his fellow vets, but there’s really nothing wrong with undercutting your competition on prices. That’s what capitalism is all about.

Dr. Joseph is also quite outspoken and occasionally belligerent. There’s nothing wrong with that either, except when such a personality leads you to threaten others, which Dr. Joseph is charged with doing. There are 26 pages of detailed findings against him which the Guam Board of Allied Health Examiners formally released last week. Those who are defending him apparently have not read those charges or heard the evidence to back them up.

What they have heard is Dr. Joseph angrily and defiantly vowing not to abide by the board’s order, which requires him among other things to close his clinic, transfer the animals in his care to other clinics, apologize to a number of people whom he has publicly insulted, and surrender his license for a period of five years. “Failure by Respondent to strictly adhere to the foregoing Order,” the order states, “shall result in immediate enforcement by the Board, including contempt and injunctive proceedings.”

Dr. Joseph says GBAHE hasn’t got the authority to order him to do anything, that only a court of law can do that. That’s where we differ with the veterinarian. The Guam Board of Allied Health Examiners is empowered to do exactly what it is doing, judging the fitness of a practitioner or applicant to hold a Guam license. They deal with more than a dozen allied health practices ranging from acupuncture to dentistry to veterinary medicine, and they have the same powers as the Guam Board of Medical Licensure. You may not like their decisions, but all citizens must abide by them. You can hire a lawyer and go to court to challenge the ruling, and you can holler all you like in the media about kangaroo court and corruption, but you’re stuck unless you can convince a judge in court that you’ve been wronged.