What would you do...?

[smirnoff_ice]

Sisters friend is a vet nurse. They had a dog in who had eaten something it shouldn't, so they operated to remove it (turned out to be a sock). A few days later, dog was back with a massive infection and lots of abscesses. Two vets (original vet + one other) re-opened dog and found another sock that they'd missed the first time round. Dog survived the op, but died one hour later.

Vets have not told the owner about the other sock - assume they just said he died from an infection from the previous sock. They've also charged full whack for the second op!

Second vet is very annoyed at first vet, but is not going to tell. Sister's friend thinks owners have a right to know.

Would you say something or just leave it? I'd be fuming if it was my dog. Fair enough, we all make mistakes, but they could have at least had the decency to own up about it!

 

[Nudibranch]

Do you know, this story is just typical. I am getting sick of hearing these stories about incompetent vets - given the money they charge for every little thing they've got a damn nerve. They want to be careful the owner doesn't get to hear about it and sue the pants off them. My friend had a gorgeous home-bred tb x welsh who came down with a mystery colic-like illness. For two weeks they drenched him, evacuated his bowels manually, stuck all kinds of tubes into him, a nasal tube for feeding etc, etc. My friend kept telling them he had a funny stance like he had a urine infection, they kept saying no, it's colic (for two weeks). One day he went down and she said enough is enough and had him PTS. When the hunt came to collect the body, they turned him over and straight away my friend saw a tumour on his sheath the size of an orange. Naturally she had to pay the full 2 and a half grand vets bill.

My pet rabbit was attacked by a dog last year, I rushed him to the vet who immediately found 3 broken ribs and a collapsed lung. I could tell he wasn't going to make it but they rushed him off to their back room and returned 45 minutes later with a dead rabbit and a 250 quid bill. Their treatment had included SIX adrenaline shots to the heart. Had I known what they were playing at I'd have asked for him to be PTS straight away and spared him the 45 minute experimental torture.

Also on a much lesser scale I had a little family of hamsters when I was a kid, they had to have a 4 week course of anti-mite injections. On the fourth week I took them in and the locum vet miscalculated the dose and put them into a coma! They all died, thougb at least that vet was decent enough not to charge for the treatment.

Anyway rant over, I could go on and on about the cock-up vet stories I've been told over the years. Suffice to say I have very little faith in vets nowdays. I know their job involves a lot of species, and boo-hoo, they have to work funny hours sometimes but given what they earn, I feel no sympathy for them. And too right, they should own up to what they've done, I'm sure most owners would still appreciate human error rather than the god-like know-it-all attitude so many of them carry.

Ok, I'll shut up now...

 

[meandmyself]

I think that the owners have a right to know. I'd hate not to be told- what happens if they're blaming themsleves for doing something wrong?

It's unethical not to tell them IMO.

 

[Cop-Pop]

I would want to know if it was my dog - I'd def be blaming myself otherwise.

 

[Vicki1986]

i would want to know. and once i knew they could sing for their payment !!