Euthanasia c*ck up!

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Caritas

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My thoughts are with you. What an awful experience, I cant even start to imagine how you must have felt and still do feel about the whole incident. xx
 

brighteyes

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[ QUOTE ]
Owner agreed new vet internally damaged mare & owners nearly lost her. The vets billed owners for the treatment - a strongly worded letter was written and the bill was revoked.


[/ QUOTE ]

Gasp!
 

Moggy in Manolos

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That is terrible, i am so sorry for you.
I would most certainly not expect to pay the full amount, as it was not a job well done either as you say,dont stand for it.
Again i am so sorry x
 

Christmas_Kate

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Christ, that moved me to tears. How awful.
No way should you have to pay for this shambles of a job. It's the vet's job to make sure you recieve what you pay for, and you wanted him to pass on in peace and dignity.
I would send the bill back.
 

Vindaloo

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Hi Vic,

Well it took a while but I am fine now thanks babe. He was old and it was the right time, he'd had enough. It was just a horrendous way for him to go.

Hope you are all well, missing you like crazy although it is lovely at the new yard and the girls are v friendly.

Looking forward to bringing the grey lump to the mock hunt. Slightly terrified but hey, it'll be good for him. Pls say hi to all and apologise for not being in contact too much. Will pop up and say hi as soon as I can.

LOT'S going on as usual but you can assure Karen that Dougal is still nice and round and is a happy boy although I think he misses the company in the field.

Give Wills a kiss from me. xxxxxx
 

henryhorn

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I cannot tell you how sad I feel you and the horse had to go through this.
On 1st November we had two horses euthanised and it went as follows. One was a strong ID x stallion who was in good health but suffering with arthritis. The other was a very old Tb in poor condition despite months of extra feed and vet attention.
Our vet first gave a sedative into the vein and the horses relaxed and stood quietly. He then gave a big dose of anaesthetic into the same vein. The first horse buckled at the knees and went to sleep but his heart needed a further dose to finish the job, though at no time was he aware of anything other than being under anasth. the second horse took a third less dose, gently crumpled and was dead immediately near enough. (neither were within sight of each other but three fields apart).
Your vet in my view was totally unprofessional and you should write to her and say how upset you were. To not have enough stuff with her is unforgivable.
We have had lots of horses euthanised here and have never encountered problems except with one mare who was so wound up with adrenaline it took a lot to finish the task. She didn't come round though the vet made sure she stayed asleep.
Cost wise it is normally around £100 so why was the charge so high? I think under the circumstances they should refund a great deal of the bill, and I would contact the senior partner to ask what he intends to do about such a fiasco.
Again I am sorry, it shouldn't go like that ever.
 

peanutpussycat

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Dougals mum - that is so sad. My heart goes out to you. I have two old ponies their combined ages add up to nearly 60!! So obviously I am considering what to do when the time comes. Yours is not the first story I have heard. I knew someone whose horse actually got up and bolted out in shock after the vet pronounced it dead 15mins previously. Terrible terrible shock. I CERTAINLY would NOT be paying the bill. They have not performed a job properly especially in such a delicate situation. They should waiver all fees out of good faith and feel lucky that you are not taking them to court for misconduct. Feel sad for you. XX
 

SpruceRI

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Really sorry to hear about this, although I have heard of a similar situation. Friend had a pony at her yard PTS by injection.

Body was left in the stable ready to be taken away. A couple of hours later the 'PTS' pony was spotted looking over the stable door obviously wondering where everyone was - gave my friend the shock of her life as the vet said earlier that he'd stopped breathing. He was an elderly chap too.
 

hotpot

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got it in one. Hope you are ok was looking at some photos of him the other day you both were so much alike nice people, with a big heart, also naughty at times, he had a good life nat it was a pity you got the wrong vet come, so write the letter, once ok twice is too many times, big kiss for dougl hug for you xxxxx
 

charlielaw

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I am so sorry for your loss. I am about to face that situation myself. My beautiful tb called Mischief has been suffering from a Neurological condition for about a year. We retired him 6 months ago but he has now gone downhill rapidly and I don't want him to reach the bottom and really suffer. My vet is going to PTS on Thursday. He is only 14 and it seems such a terrible waste but I don't want him to suffer.

I have to say I am quite scared now after reading the above. My poor boy has suffered enough so I pray nothing goes wrong with him. I wanted the hunt to do it but my old hunt don't come out as far as where I am based now and I don't like the thought of strangers doing it.

My vet seems very confident about it and Mischief is very fond of him. He is very experienced but I would still prefer the bullet.

I was wondering could someone give me some advice?

I also Have a 2yo new forest, who I have had since he was 4 months, but he is still very very nervous as he was beaten before I had him. He will now be on his own for a little while, although I am going to move him to the yard next door to my house so that he has me at least. I was wondering if it is better to let him see Mischief's body so that he has some form of closure? I have had mixed opinions but the vet seems to believe that this is a good idea.
 

charlielaw

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That's what I was thinking. And at least as Mischief is being Injected his body will look normal o hopefully it will not scar the baby too much. Now I just need to get hold of some transport before thursday! I don't have my own and my usual friend is unable to move baby for several days and I don't want him on his own in the middle of nowhere for that time. Although I doubt he will want to leave the field.
 

charlielaw

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I have never had to stand with them before when it is done but my boy had gotten very clingy during his illness and will not allow anyone close to him without me there so I have no choice. How quickly do they usually drop? I want to be prepared. My friend is going to be with me but I just don't want to breakdown in front of the horse as it would not be fair to him.
 

Happy Horse

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It is usually pretty quick. They tend to start to sway within about 20 seconds of the injection and drop a few seconds after that. Some go down slowly, others drop very fast but the important thing to remember is they are completely out of it when they go down.

I hope it goes ok for you.
 

star

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they usually go down just after the needle is taken out - it's normally very quick and having seen a fair few, i have been lucky not to see any that haven't gone smoothly, be it by injection or bullet.
 

charlielaw

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Thanks to you both. It's the waiting that is awful as I don't want him to pick up on how I am feeling, and bless him he can read me like a book. He seems to be able to tell when I am down by how I am walking cos he marches straight up to me and puts his head in my chest for a cuddle.

How do you cope with it though? the thought keeps going through my head that through everything bad thing that has happened he has always been there to listen and for cuddles, but now I will have to cope without.....sounds very selfish I know but the thought terrifies me.
 

star

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i dont know you you cope with it - never had to do it to my own horse - still got my 1st horse - only had him 6yrs, although he is nearly 21 so i do know it will come one day, hopefully we still have a few years left. all the horses i have seen pts have been in a vet capacity. i will be in pieces when my boy goes - i think it's only natural. dont worry about him noticing you're a bit down - he is not going to associate that with what will happen to him - all he will know is a needle then drifting off to sleep - it's just like an overdose of anaesthetic. it's the most unselfish thing you can do for him, and i hope it all goes as ok as possible.
 

Happy Horse

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I know exactly how you feel - I had my old boy put down after 14 years. I had worked at an equine vets for a number of years and seen lots go bt it was different when it was my own. I coped by giving him the best morning ever on the day it happened. He had the biggest drug free breakfast and then I walked him out to the longest patch of grass to graze for an hour until the vet arrived. When he got there I just let him get on with it as I didn't want Shane to get any vibes from me. It was over so quickly and peacefully and I knew I had done the right thing for him. It was hard when he had gone and even now I still think of him often but had I let him go on he would have deteriorated and I couldn't have lived with that.
 

charlielaw

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Thank you. I was thinking that I would give him a really good groom and lots of love and food. Is very difficult to prepare. I lost my best friend in a car accident a few years ago but i think the shock factor got me over the worst of it then. is different when you know it's coming, and the fact that you are arranging for your own horse to die.
 

Vicki1986

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Karen will be glad to hear he's still a big round lump!! bless.
Yes you MUST come to the mock hunt, im just about to email louise directions. Will be lovely to see you and dougal - well a week on sunday then if your definately coming out! lovely!
laugh.gif
xxx
 

Stella

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I'm so sorry that happened to you and your horse - its just awful
frown.gif
I think you should dispute the bill, but more importantly, I would want the practice to review the case and provide an explanation of why this happened. They need to look into it, both to give you a much deserved explanation and so that they learn something from it if possible to reduce the chances of it happening again.
 

AtiraApps

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So sorry to hear of your miss fortune..my heart goes out to you & your poor horse. I too would DEF get in touch with the Vets in question........in fact l would play up Holy Hell.....and would not let this rest untill you have a FULL explanation-apoligy & most DEF wouldnt pay there bill!
This is sheer incompitence in my eyes......luckily l have a vet practise that l FULLY trust- and have been most unfortunate to have had 3 horses PTS in the past by them- but this was carried out with upmost care and profesionalisam.(Spelling?)
2 by the gun- one (a foal) by injection.
An older horse l would say shooting (but our vet injects first to sedate) but foals & youngsters injection. Just a personnel choice- and not by ANY means one l enjoyed making.........
BIG HUGS to you............happy memories of your old & faithful friend.......just try and think of those. Trish.x.x.x.x.x.
 

squirtlysmum

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My god my heart goes out to you!! Last September my lovely mare 21 years old became terribly ill and I too had to make the ultimate decision, I'd had her for 21years , saw her at 2 days old and fell in love. When the time came I knew I had to be with her, we took her out to the sandschool and the vet briefed me that he would inject her, she would take a couple of deep breaths and just go down, well as he said she took the breaths and fell down, then started to fight like mad as though she was being attacked by a monster, as she had fallen the injection had come out and she'd only had half the drug, the vet told me to stay back as she thrashed about, however I ignored him and took hold of her and she stopped and calmed down whilst he injected the rest of the drug she lay in my arms and cocked her ear toward me and died. This lives with me every day however I feel I would not have allowed anyone else to be with her and I feel honoured to have been her mummy for so long, I have her four year old son (been diagnosed with Kissing Spine last week!! And no my middle name is not Lucky!!) who has become the absolute image of his mum.
Having had to have my hubby's horse PTS due to a broken knee, she was shot and it was over so quickly, I know absolutely which way I would go for in the future, sadly horses only break your heart once!!
Just know that you made the ultimate and right decision and remember him for all the good times!!
 

SusieJane

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I'm so sorry to hear of your awful experience.

As an ex vet nurse, I have been to a few PTS of horses, and as someone else said, collapsed veins can be a problem, coupled with organ failure, the drug doesn't circulate well and fast enough.
Secondly, if as you said, the vet gave your boy enough to put down four horses, she had covered the likelyhood that you may have wanted him euthanised

However, I strongly urge you to speak to your practice. Go to the practice manager or the head vet.

I would ask them for a reduction of charges, and a written letter of explanation.

xx
 

Supra241

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Jeez, what an awful thing for you and your horse. As if things were not traumatic enough.
I can't believe they just left you like that. They could surely have gone to get the equipment needed and come back. I don't understand why the crematorium ended up putting the horse down. It must have been very distressing for you. Perhaps you should not pay the bill yet. There is someone you can complain to when things go wrong with a vet but I can't remember who it is. I think you should definitely complain but wait until you are calm again. Don't pay the bill and let them start to sweat. ?
 
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