Anyone can kill your dog and chances are it's worthless so they'll get away with it.

[IPOGT]

Just an FYI. If your veterinarian kills your dog you are screwed. Doesn't matter if you have a loved pet or a $20K show dog. Vets do not tell on other vets even if they KNOW they are bad. The veterinary board sides with the vets, 98% of the complaints get thrown out and unlikely you'll be able to get a vet to testify against another. To top it off, dogs are as worthless as a chair and therefore no lawyer is willing to take dog malpractice cases. So my friends, we are screwed until you can change the laws giving your dog some value for which vets need to be held responsible for.

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[Nagare]

For a regular home pet, I'd say you're right but I'd venture that a $20k show dog that has a pure bred lineage and proof of victories with monetary prizes, it would be easy to show your losses and get reimbursed with a lawsuit.

You probably sign away any rights to sue when you drop your dog off though, there is always the potential for complications with a surgery, even for animals.

 

[rebellovw]

I love my two Pit mixes and have absolutely no issues with my vet who is awesome. Changes like what you are mentioning would likely raise vet fees considerably. I already pay a very high amount so no thanks.

Find a good vet - most are great and not evil as you point out. I have yet to go to a vet that didn’t seem to care for my dogs.

System is fine as is.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

What prompted this?

Know what you mean, though. My aunt had a Boston Bull. She took him in for mandatory shots. The dog was taken to a back room. My aunt heard what she described as the sound of a dog fighting followed by a loud thump and silence. The vet came out and informed her the dog just died from a heart attack.

 

[IPOGT]

For a regular home pet, I'd say you're right but I'd venture that a $20k show dog that has a pure bred lineage and proof of victories with monetary prizes, it would be easy to show your losses and get reimbursed with a lawsuit.

You probably sign away any rights to sue when you drop your dog off though, there is always the potential for complications with a surgery, even for animals.

Believe me. It isn't that simple. There are lots of good vets. There are lots of bad ones as well.

 

[IPOGT]

What prompted this?

Know what you mean, though. My aunt had a Boston Bull. She took him in for mandatory shots. The dog was taken to a back room. My aunt heard what she described as the sound of a dog fighting followed by a loud thump and silence. The vet came out and informed her the dog just died from a heart attack.

I brought my 2 year old German Shepherd to Dr. Bellows Sr. on May 3rd 2016 to repair a chipped tooth he had received during his K9 training.
He was an endurance titled (12/km run certified) K9 prior to bringing him this facility and had already been titled in several working K9 venues had obtained breed certifications as well as international IPO 1, BH, AD titles.
At 4:30 PM on that day Tuesday May 3rd 2016 I received a called from dr. Bellows
advising me that after his procedure he was not able to wake my dog up and I should come quickly. He left him in a kennel to wake up and then noticed he wasnt breathing. WTF puts a dog in a kennel when they aren't out of anesthesia?
My dog passed away. Dr. Bellows was unaware of my dogs certifications prior to me bringing him there, and suggested at the time that he may have a heart condition which would explain why he passed.
I agreed to have a necropsy performed after Dr. Bellows enthusiastically recommended so because he "really wanted to know what caused his death". Interestingly though, he had told my wife and I that he didn't have a freezer big enough for him (which implies he would not be properly preserved) (RED FLAG #1). He actually said to us that if I did not want to consent to a necropsy I can take my dog home and bury him in the backyard" (Red Flag #2) The next day under the custody of Dr. Bellows, he was sent to UF veterinary for this procedure. When I arrived home I thought I should more deeply look into who this was that said these things... The reviews looked great. He was board certified. Turns out, he was the doctor for the famous "wizard of claws" national lawsuit against a local company for selling sick puppies nationwide. https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3299731&page=1
Low and behold the necropsy results come back after a very long wait and the pathology states my dog had a moderate to severe heart condition!! Just a Dr. Bellows predicted. What a coincidence.
Unfortunately, I maintain with professional agreement that regardless of what the pathology states, the practical fact of the matter is a dog could never attain the level of physical documented certification we had together while having this level of disease. All documentation is in my possession to support my claim.
That's the story. Now, what do YOU think really happened.

 

[CAL Captain]

I brought my 2 year old German Shepherd to Dr. Bellows Sr. on May 3rd 2016 to repair a chipped tooth he had received during his K9 training.
He was an endurance titled (12/km run certified) K9 prior to bringing him this facility and had already been titled in several working K9 venues had obtained breed certifications as well as international IPO 1, BH, AD titles.

At 4:30 PM on that day Tuesday May 3rd 2016 I received a called from dr. Bellows
advising me that after his procedure he was not able to wake my dog up and I should come quickly.

My wife and I are so, so sorry for your loss. We have 5 dogs--one very elderly who won't be with us much longer--and we know intimately the pain this caused you. More so because of your baby's age and background.

May Saint Francis watch over you and comfort you.

 

[IPOGT]

Thank you.

Here's the takeaway.
1- Know that In most states your dog is worthless which means a lawyer will not get paid to represent you. (Needs to change).

2- The veterinary boards are useless and protect their own while dismissing 98% of complaints. (needs to change)

3-veterinarians will not say anything bad or testify against each other. Even if they know.

4- reviews can be faked and there can be many. Enough to effectively bury the important bad reviews they try to hide.

5- The insurance companies charge vets VERY low rates for malpractice (because they know they never really have to pay) and will fight forever (and bleed you out in legal fees) to prevent any precedence of payment for malpractice cases.

6- The veterinary medical association is against having a value for pets and so is the pet food industry. Wonder why?

 

[IPOGT]

What prompted this?

Know what you mean, though. My aunt had a Boston Bull. She took him in for mandatory shots. The dog was taken to a back room. My aunt heard what she described as the sound of a dog fighting followed by a loud thump and silence. The vet came out and informed her the dog just died from a heart attack.

OMG. Dogs like that have breathing issues normally. WTF did they think would happen when you physically restrain a dog like that?

 

[IPOGT]

OMG. Dogs like that have breathing issues normally. WTF did they think would happen when you physically restrain a dog like that?

I'll answer for you. They panic and normally don't breathe very well and then with all he stress of being restrained cannot get enough air and go into cardiac arrest.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

OMG. Dogs like that have breathing issues normally. WTF did they think would happen when you physically restrain a dog like that?

She doesn't think he was restrained. She says the dog freaked out and the vet clubbed him to death in self defense.

 

[IPOGT]

Well, she would know her dog best. But, extra care with those short nose dogs, bull dog type etc. because of the inherent breathing problems. You may not know but an interesting fact is they cannot mate naturally, and vets have to be extremely careful with anesthesia with those breed types.

 

[IPOGT]

This thread while 100% true, was also a test that helped prove something to me.
See how few people commented on a non pet related site?
That's why all this goes on. The simple fact is few people really care and that's why anyone can kill your dog and they will not owe you a dime.
Certainly, I doubt anyone will be calling their lawmakers to ask them to change the laws.

 

[rebellovw]

death of a dog is absolutely horrible and something I do not at all want to think about. Monetary compensation for a pets death isn’t going to make me feel better so I’m not sure what a lawsuit helps other than driving already high vet bills even higher with malpractice insurance fees.

I paid a little over 1k a couple months back to have both dogs teeth cleaned - that is crazy expensive.

 

[IPOGT]

death of a dog is absolutely horrible and something I do not at all want to think about. Monetary compensation for a pets death isn’t going to make me feel better so I’m not sure what a lawsuit helps other than driving already high vet bills even higher with malpractice insurance fees.

I paid a little over 1k a couple months back to have both dogs teeth cleaned - that is crazy expensive.

They charge that because they can. The vets usually don't even do the cleaning- a tech usually does it.
I understand your concern about cost. But really, does cost really matter more than knowing that the person treating your dog is responsible for something more than a toothpick should something go wrong?
Think about how much no responsibility plays in the choice of employees they hire, equipment they use etc. Yes, there are many good vets. There are also many who enter the field knowing they can charge a fortune and have no responsibility. It's a great deal. These vets have less responsibility than an electrician installing a ceiling fan in your house.

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