Avon Lake veterinarian, co-defendant charged with prescribing painkillers, anti-anxiety meds for dead dog

An Avon Lake veterinarian is facing seven criminal charges that he used the name of a dead dog to illegally prescribe painkillers and anti-anxiety medication for nearly a year before the alleged scheme was revealed by suspicious pharmacy staff. Dr. Kris L. Taylor, 62, of Strongsville, was booked Tuesday at the Lorain County Jail on felony charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, also known as racketeering; deception to obtain a dangerous drug; possession of drugs and illegal processing of drug documents. He also is charged with possession of drugs, a misdemeanor contained in a Sept. 28 secret indictment filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Taylor posted a $500,000 surety bond, signed a personal bond and was released from the Lorain County Jail in under 30 minutes Tuesday, according to jail records. Conditions of Taylor's bond are that he is subject to court-supervised release, must get a substance abuse assessment, follow any treatment recommendations and abstain from alcohol or drug use, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday morning before Judge Chris Cook, and hired an attorney to represent him, according to court records. The case is now assigned to Judge Donna Freeman. A pretrial hearing is scheduled Oct. 23. Camille Nieto, also named in court records as Camille Angulat-Nieto, 29, was booked Wednesday at the Lorain County Jail and released just before noon Thursday after posting 10 percent of $500,000 bond with conditions similar to Taylor's, according to jail records. Her charges also are the same as Taylor's: Engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, deception to obtain a dangerous drug, possession of drugs and illegal processing of drug documents, all felonies, and possession of drugs, a misdemeanor. Nieto will be arraigned Oct. 15 in Cook's courtroom. Court records did not list an attorney, and also gave differing addresses for her in Avon and Cleveland. It wasn't immediately clear which address was accurate. Taylor is the owner and director of Landings Animal Hospital on Avon Belden Road in Avon Lake. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre said the alleged scheme was revealed when Walgreens pharmacy on Walker Road in Avon Lake called the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, about "questionable" oxycodone prescriptions Taylor was writing for Nieto's dead pet. Oxycodone is a prescription painkiller that can be legally prescribed but also abused. The prescriptions for that and alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication commonly known by the brand name Xanax, were being written in the name of Punkin, a dog. Pierre said this was odd because Punkin had been "put to sleep" — euthanized, or humanely killed — on July 27, 2024. Despite Punkin being dead, Taylor and Nieto allegedly continued to fill prescriptions in Punkin's name between Aug. 10, 2024, and June 7, 2025. There were 23 separate instances where prescriptions for either oxycodone or alprazolam were written using Taylor's prescription pad and Punkin's name, Pierre said. More than 2,100 oxycodone pills and 120 alprazolam pills were prescribed. The prescriptions were filled mostly at the Walgreens but also at least once at both the Walgreens and the CVS pharmacy on Lear Road on the same day, Feb. 18, 2025, according to Taylor and Nieto's indictments. In one instance, both Taylor and Nieto went to the Walgreens on May 14, 2025, to fill two prescriptions, one for 30 alprazolam and one for 90 oxycodone pills. That prompted pharmacy staff to call the DEA because they found it odd that Taylor, the prescribing doctor, "would be there with the patient and that Taylor paid" for the prescription, Pierre said. Taylor's biography on the animal hospital's website said he is a 1993 graduate of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. It said he worked all over Ohio before joining Landings Animal Hospital in 2001 and buying the practice in 2006. Taylor's license to practice veterinary medicine was active and up to date with the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board as of Thursday and he had no prior board action or discipline, according to an online state database search. Contact Dave O'Brien at 440-329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.