dog dies having ears cropped

:cry: :cry hey everyone i just wanted to say that i took my 11wk old puppy in to have his ears cropped and i picked him up in a box. he made it through the surgery fine but after stopped breathing and just never woke up. He was a completely healthy puppy and should have did fine. He had an etopsy done and that also said that everything should have been fine. His name was diesel, he was a fawn brendal with blue eyes and blue blood line, the morning of the surgery he weighed 17.1 lbs, man he was going to be a big boy. We loved him very much and we want to get to the bottom of why he died, we suspect fowl play or neglegence. If anyone knows of a good lawyer who will represent an animal case please let me know. Please think about it before you have it done to your dog, its really not worth the risk.

 

OH I'm soooo sorry. There is always a risk when putting a pet under anethesia. Its not worth it, your right. Definately have the necropsy reviewed, if you thing there was neglegance present, you need to have a lawyer review the vets findings and proceedures.

 

OMG!! I am so sorry for your loss.
As Sam said there is always a risk when your dog goes under. Mine jsut got spayed and was VERY sick afterward.

Again, you are in my thoughts. If you feel something is wrong, please go with your gut instinct. Many lawyers will offer their servies free to review your file. Others will be free and only charge if you win. I am unsure of any animal lawyers though. Perhaps you could do a search for one?

What area are you in and I will see what I can find.

 

This is just terrible. I'm so sorry!!

Has anyone ever sued a Vet for negligence and been successful? Usually when I had my dogs in for surgery, I sign all types of paper stating that I'm aware that problems during surgery and post-op may occur and for them to be able to do whatever they feel is necessary to remedy an unforeseen problem. I figured by signing those papers, it gets them off the hook if the're negligent.

If they were in the wrong, I think there are State DVM Examining Boards that you can make a complaint to. To many complaints, and their license to practice VM is revoked.

 

hmmm, I guess it would depend on the negligence.
Like, for example they gave him an overdose of the anesthetic and he fell into a coma and died vs. hiim just having a bad reaction to it.

If she really thinks foul play was involved (we allknow not everyone loves this breed), an autopsy should be able to show how much of what substance was in his body.

I would also suggest having an autoopsy done by a different practitioner and not at that clinic. Its always better to have 2 opinions on a subject as serious as what you are stating.

 

Did you have pre-op bloodwork done ?? It costs a little extra but often reveals hidden dangers before it is too late. All responsible vets offer it and even make you sign a form stating that you have opted not to do it.

I am very sorry for your loss... It is devastating to lose something you love so much.....

 

thanks.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for responding. We have talked to a law graduate and he said we should have a case of negligence. We did all the pre-test to check for risk factors of going under and he tested normal for everything. We think the vet tech wasn't watching him like she was supposed to. by the time she did notice his gums were white from losing oxygen. Instead of going ahead and starting CPR or hooking him to an oxygen machine,(because he already had a tube in his throat for oxygen), she left my dying puppy on the table and went and got the vet out of anohter surgery, the vet left the other surgery , which was started 5 minutes after my puppys surgery, and put my puppy back into his surgery room then administered CPR. by then it was too late. What i don't understand is why they could not help him breath in the recovery room. i mean isn't that what a recovery room is for. SO we are investigating negligence on the vets office. They also told us that 1 out of every 20 pitts die from anistestia there . thats not right the odds are to high. other vets say they can't remeber the last time they lost a dog. Thanks for everyones support.

 

sorry to hear your loss. but do you realise that pets die for all sorts of unkown reason on the operating table? humans do too. it doesnt necessarily mean negligence is involved. also a recovery room isnt to 'recover' dying dogs. its just a post op room where they wake up. no one can wave a magic wand and make someone start breathing again. if you honestly think negligence is involved i suggest you talk to all of the vet clinic's staff individually and find out as much as you can. dont talk to a lawyer, they dont know the first thing about animal surgery and they could get things completely wrong and mess everything up. everything has a 'case of something' as long as they get $$$. as you said in your first post, there should be a lesson learned from all this about ear cropping, it isnt risk free. people need to think is it really worth it if a pet can die?