I’m sorry to even write such a thing, especially because it’s my opinion that the vast – read that to mean just about all – majority of doctors and staff at a veterinary hospital, do what they do because of care and concern for pets.
But that’s just what happened to a woman recently who took her dog in for routine teeth cleaning only to receive a call later that day that the unthinkable had happened…her dog had died. Somehow the oxygen used during sedation was hooked up incorrectly by a technician…..
The hospital is one with a good reputation and they’ve been in business for many years. In fact the veterinarian and the hospital owner don’t have one complaint against them on their record.
However the woman was devastated. She still cries when she speaks of her lost dog, even though she now shares her life with a new puppy.
Here’s what the hospital did after the tragedy:
1. They (obviously) did not charge the woman.
2. They paid for the cost of a new dog.
3. They issued an apology both to her and publically.
4. They developed new guidelines so no future animal
suffers the same fate for this procedure.
So here are my questions to you:
1. Did the hospital do enough?
2. In cases such as this, do you think there should be any State/legal involvement?
3. Is there more you’d like to see published on incidents such as these?
“We don’t get into the field for anything other than our love for animals, but at the end of the day, we are human and things go wrong. This will haunt me until the end of my career.”
A tragedy.
Tell us what you think? Leave your comments below:
Adam
Daily Paws
Tags: pet death, teeth cleaning, trip to vet
I personally would be ready to go to court.
This post made me cry. I had an Aussie puppy spade and she died during the procedure. The vet was horrible about it. They certainly didn’t offer to pay for a new dog for me. I had to fight to NOT pay for the operation. It was a nightmare. I was devastated for two years. My net vet, bless her, doesn’t give my new Aussie anesthesia when she cleans his teeth.