I feel like Paul Revere here, waving a lantern that has nothing to do with Ambergris. But read my story, please. For all of you pet owners, it may come as something of a shock!

On Thanksgiving weekend we took our perfectly healthy and active 7 mos puppy into a Veterinarian Clinic for a routine spaying procedure. The Vet asked to keep her overnight, which we agreed to. Upon calling the next morning for a time to pick her up, we were informed that she had died during the night. Completely alone. It seems the State of Maine does not require clinics to provide 24 hr. care or attention to their patients that they keep overnight.

Before you make the same mistake I did by not asking what I thought would be an obvious assumption, the next time you leave a pet, ASK!

I don't want to turn this into a political forum. However, I am trying to bring Legislature into affect to change this situation. If you would like to help by sending a couple of emails to various political people, please Email me at Jericco@AOL.com and I will furnish you with the info.

Thank you.

Valerie

How sad, Valerie! Sad to hear about your pup! Puppies can get ill very easily.
One of my friends tells me! It's just a Dog! Hard for me to understand when she has a dog too! But I tell her they are just children with fur coats.
Sorry for your loss.

Dear Mango...tell you friend that we "might" respond to her mother, "That's just an old person."

Life is precious and life that is loved is even more so. Everyone of those lives needs to be protected. I feel very sorry for your friend.

Valerie: sorry about your pup. My father has been a veternarian here in Calif. for 40 years and I worked for him for a long time, many years ago. I am a huge animal fan and always have been. They truly are members of your family and give unconditional love.

The law in this state does not require 24 hour care. Of course, if an animal undergoes a major surgery, or a minor surgery and is still coming out of anesthesia, there should be someone on the premises to watch. A spay is a routine surgery and your post does not say whether your pup had undergone surgery or was due to undergo surgery. Generally, an overnight stay is not required prior to surgery. I assume your pup was up to date on vaccinations. Were you told the cause of the death?

When my cat died a few years ago from leukemia, I could not go to work the next day - I was so upset. Hang in there!

the necropsy said she bleed to death.

Good Lord! Bleed to death? From what? Did they tell you!

I am sorry, but I cannot keep my mouth shut on this. Was the surgery done before your dog died? If so, I'd be screaming malpractice and would contact the state licensing board and make a report on the particular vet. Any further facts?

That definately sounds as if it could have been avoided with some standard basic medical attention. Sounds like negligence. I agree with the above post.
Debbie

Thanks to all...first off, she was a perfectly healthy 7 month old sheltie, all vaccinations,etc. They told me they wanted to hold her over for "observation." She bled to death completely unattended sometime after 6:00PM when they closed the clinic and when she was discovered at 8:00AM the next morning. What "they" were going to observe is a mystery to us since no one was there. She had no genetic blood problems, etc. Her abdominal cavity was filled with blood post-op.

My issue is that when you are asked by a medical person to leave a patient overnight, you "assume" someone is going to be there doing the observing. That is NOT the case in the states I have investigated so far....Fla, N.C., S.C., Virg., W.V., N.H and Maine.

And yes, this is a lawsuit, I am scsreaming bloody murder and I have the State Senator's entering Legislation on the 15th of this month. But just beware and always ASK!

it is always hard to lose something/someone we love!!!go after them hard, girl. Rick and I put down our 16 yr. old chow. We have a wonderful vet that came to our house and did it!!but it was really hard...good luck...i hope you stick it to 'em!!!

From your last post, it sounds like your pup underwent the surgery. Please report this vet to the State Veterinary Board in writing. It is definitely negligence to leave an animal unattended after surgery. All surgeries should be done in the a.m. hours so the animals are attended all day by the staff.

Laurie

I just wanted to comment on the vet situation. My best friend is a vet and she has told me all the secrets that aren't spoken to the normal consumers. First, is that most vet clinics do not take proper precaution when doing surgery. Most of the time they don't put the animal under normal anesthesia (sp?). They just knock them out with a sedative... The horrible thing is that they don't use painkillers. My advice is be cautious when taking your pet in. Most people are cautious about taking them to a vetinary medical school, but I can promise that they will get the best care there. You would be suprised how many animals die from routine procedures at normal vet clinics. I would invest the extra money and bring your pet into a medical center.

So sorry to hear about the loss of your pet. We just had to put down a beloved dog and my heart goes out to you.

Mossbank...thank you for the kind words. And I also offer my sympathy for your loss. When do the tears stop?

The tears stop for me when I wait for some time to go by and get another pet. There are hundreds of "guys" (as we call our pets) out there that need good homes. When God closes a door, he opens a window.

Imarquis...true words! and you are correct!