Veterinarians

[twteddy]

So going through vet tech school, you learn the dos and donts of vet teching. One rule, if a customer says to put down an animal that is sick or injured, no matter the severity, you are legally bound to do so. Of course, this comes with examples of things that happen if you dont follow this law. First off, the vet was in the wrong, but the customer in this story, total and complete absolute heartless bitch.

In Florida, a client brings in a 2 year old pure bred male Golden Retriever. This dog is in perfect health, except of course for a perfectly clean break in the right front leg. This is a problem that is easily fixable and non life threatening. Client takes one look at the bill presented to her and then complains that its way too expensive and that she wanted to put the animal down immediately. The vet, having both the financial ability and knowledge of the injury, offers to take the dog off the lady's hand and treat the dog. The clients mentality, if I cant have the dog, no one can, and against the pleads of the vet, insists the dog be put down. The client doesnt wish to be present nor recieve any sort of remains afterwards. After the client leaves this is when the vet made the mistake. She ignored the clients orders, treated the dog, and took him home. A couple months later the vet is taking the dog for a walk. She runs into the client. Client immediately recognized the dog and the vet, puts 2 and 2 together, does some investigation, and eventually sues the vet for money, the dog and the vets license, winning her case.

[Dips]

Welcome to the forum twteddy.

That's a truly awful story. I'd heard stories of vets faking euthanasia but always thought it was an urban legend.

I googled the news sites and never found anything about this story but did find others where the vet turned around and sold the animal for profit.

So it does happen.

I moved this to Sightings since Sucky Customers is more for things that happen where you work, not things that happen elsewhere.

Mod note to all:

This is obviously a very emotional topic. It could turn into a debate about laws and ethics very easily.

Nothing wrong with debating that in www.fratching.com but please don't do it here.

[blas]

A little over a year ago, my Grandma (Dad's mom, she's 90) was adament that her cat, Fanta, a 9 or 10 year old fat old orange tabby, needed to be put down. That he was becoming too much to handle.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with Fanta, it was just that Grandma was getting too old and unable to change his litter box and be able to chase him around cleaning up his hair that he shedded everywhere.

No big deal, lots of pets that are owned by old people get taken to shelters or given away, it's no big deal that an old person can't care for their pet anymore.

But noo....for some reason, Grandma insisted that he had to be put down. She refused to let my family take him, and Grandma's stupid two sons (who are total Mamas Boys because just now in life they regret ignoring their mom from their earlier adulthood, they are from her first marriage) gave in to her and behind my other uncle's (son from my Grandpa's first marriage) back (he was going to take him to my parents' house) took him to the vet and had him put down.

And a few weeks ago visiting Grandma, she says "I miss that cat. I wish I hadn't had him put down. There was nothing wrong with him."

This is why I hate those two uncles. Well, the best reason I do.

[Magpie]

Why do people not take the advice of the professionals they hire? Seriously people, if you're going to pay someone for their knowledge, LISTEN TO THEM! "I can take this dog for you" would be something to listen to.

[Squeaksmyalias]

I had a client like that, she had a couple month old puppy put down because they decided that since their 9 year old wasn't taking care of it they shouldn't have a puppy. I turned them into their breeder for breach of contract. They signed the contract that stated if they didn't want the dog anymore no matter the age to return it to the breeder, they couldn't give it away or have it put down.

Most breeders have similar in contracts, they've dealt with too many dogs being given up or put down weeks or a year after it's been taken because the family decided it was too hard to handle or they didn't want a pet anymore. I've actually heard of non breeding contracts if the puppy doesn't meet breeding standards you need to have it fixed. I'm glad those are being put in place too.

That's why I can't bring myself to work at a vets office. I know of too many times people just put down their pets because they just don't want them anymore.

[MoonCat]

I used to have a fluffy white cat named Splat- absolutely beautiful cat but dumb as a post for the most part. And I used to have a roomie that Splat hated with a passion. Every time this roomie would pick Splat up the cat would struggle to get away. Well, I witnessed it one day and told her leave my cat alone because it was obvious Splat didn't want to be anywhere near this person.

I got up the next morning to find Splat laying at the bottom of the stairs trying to move. Only her front legs were working...but there was nothing to explain what happened. In tears I take her to the vet's office, my mother driving. I had no idea what was wrong with Splat at all. Until the vet showed us her x-rays - back broken in two places, evidently on purpose. He explained surgery options but there was no way I had the sort of money needed, and even though he was willing to work out some sort of payment arrangements I couldn't risk Splat getting flattened by my then 3-yr old son while she was healing, and even then she couldn't be overly handled.

I bawled when I asked the vet to put Splat down...but he surprised me by asking if I would give Splat to him and the office girls. They would make sure that Splat got the operation she needed to fix her back and would never have to worry about getting mauled by kids. Seeing that as a better option than death I signed paperwork to show that I was giving my cat to him.

Last I saw Splat she had been renamed and was absolutely spoiled rotten by the office girls.

Oh, and that roomie quickly became an ex-roomie. She admitted to throwing Splat hard down the stairs that night because she was pissed at me for telling her to leave my cat alone. I didn't give her very long to get the fuck out of my home, and my parents totally backed me up on it.

I would have beaten the hell out of the roommate. You'd be reading about me on CNN.

As far as the vet: There was a case in the news about a woman who couldn't pay to have her dog treated. Someone at the vet's office offered to pay for the operation provided the woman signed something saying she was giving the dog to this person. The dog recovered, and the original owner wanted her back, but the person who had paid for the operation wouldn't give her back. Turned into a whole ugly legal mess. I'm not even sure what the outcome of the lawsuit was.

[Mikkel]

She admitted to throwing Splat hard down the stairs that night because she was pissed at me for telling her to leave my cat alone.

That's when I would have let her taste the same medicine .

I admit that I considered having my cats put down just after I was diagnosed with cancer, not immediately but if I got worse or died in the operation. Then it would be my daughter's responsibility, of course, but I told her to do it if she couldn't find a good home for them.
I hope I'll live long enough for them to grow old, but should it happen I don't and if I can't find a home for them where they can be together, get lots of skritches and run free, I may chose to take them with me.
I'll do what I can to avoid it, both me dying and having the cats put down. There are fates worse than death, though, what if Splat had to live with the evil roomie?

[Sparky]

These stories are heartbreaking.

The reason I chose my vet was that when I first started going there, they had at least five animals who were permanent office pets, including a blind cat and a little dog in a wheeled cart. Most of these, I think, had been surrendered by owners who wanted them put down, but the vets talked them out of it. The little doggie had been a stray, I think.

[Magpie]

I would have beaten the hell out of the roommate. You'd be reading about me on CNN.

See, I'm nastier than that. I'd have reported her to the OSCPA.




And the local news media .

[Gawdzillers]

My reaction:

[Cazzi]

That's when I would have let her taste the same medicine .

And ditto

I used to have 2 lovely cats, mother & daughter who had never been separated.
Unfortunately,when my daughter was about 18 months old & the cats about 5 & 3, she developed asthma & the house kitties were a major trigger.
I couldn't get them in with any of the cat protection people as at the time they were inundated with homeless kittens & the RSPCA said there wasn't much of a chance they could home them together

I took them to the vets in tears (I'm welling up all these years later!).. He agreed with me that the kindest thing to do was to put them to sleep as even he thought it wouldn't be fair on them to split them apart.. they were like me & my shadow.

I stayed with them, then laid them to rest alongside my childhood kittys. I still miss them.

So yes, if I ever saw anyone do a thing like that to an innocent animal, my next post in here would probably be after they let me out of prison!

[Mishi]

Not sure if we have the same law here, but I do know that my old boss will either re-home unwanted pets or tell the owner to take them elsewhere because he won't put down an otherwise healthy animal. He's a big softy and cares about people's emotional attachment to animals, often suggesting that they take them home and spoil them (when possible) for a couple of days to a week before they get put to sleep.

@Patiokitty: I'd have wanted to help her down the stairs with my foot.

Edited to add - Breeding, non-breeding and 'Care' contracts are standard operating practice for any decent breeder over here.

[Squeaksmyalias]

Not sure if we have the same law here, but I do know that my old boss will either re-home unwanted pets or tell the owner to take them elsewhere because he won't put down an otherwise healthy animal. He's a big softy and cares about people's emotional attachment to animals, often suggesting that they take them home and spoil them (when possible) for a couple of days to a week before they get put to sleep.

Is he hiring? I might be willing to move that far...

@Patiokitty: I'd have wanted to help her down the stairs with my Baseball bat

There I fixed it for you Mishi

Edited to add - Breeding, non-breeding and 'Care' contracts are standard operating practice for any decent breeder over here.

Pretty sure it's standard practice here, I don't deal too much with breeders but from what I have seen quite a few have them. Those that didn't I wasn't happy with their normal breeding practices anyway.

[Sliceanddice]

um guys, im not a mod, and i usually am right up there with the righteous outrage but you really shouldn't threaten the ex-roomie. She lucky she wasnt arrested for animal abuse and the poster was smart not to attack her.

to the OP i have say the vets one big mistake was keeping the dog. you find the dog a new home after it heals, hopefully in another town. and if he charged her for the euthanasia then she had a right to sue.
if he didnt and she didnt fill anything out he could actually claim she abandoned the pet on his property and might have won. he obviously didnt do that.

[ralerin]

These stories are heartbreaking.

QFT.

My vet knew our Charlemagne and was "out of office" the day we had to have him put down. (We still don't know what happened and we probably never will and it's probably better this way. We suspect Charlemagne was taken out of our yard by someone, beaten up and left behind; or he worked himself free of his leash and was attacked by someone/something, because when we found him he was shaking like a leaf; and it's happened before that people tried to beat him up IN our yard. Within a week he was dead, going from painful, to paralyzed to having to be put to sleep because we couldn't afford $6,000 for his operation.) I don't know of any vet who likes to put an animal down, at all, even if, in our case, it was necessary. If it was for an animal that was healthy in all aspects, then I would refuse, no matter what.