HARSH LESSONS LEARNED

The following is for persons with disabilities, law enforcement officers, or search and rescue staff (SARS) who have canine partners. It is advice and since advice is cheap you may want to take it with a grain of salt. On the other hand, if you love your dog, and he/she is your life you may want to give some serious thought to the message below.

Chloe's veterinarian, the veterinarian who cared for her when she died came highly recommended by many other veterinarians and one very well known critical care emergency veterinary hospital in San Diego. As a result, I placed my total confidence and trust in Chloe's Vet. Unfortunately, I have come to believe it was a very serious mistake costing me the life of my working dog, my beloved Chloe. It was a mistake I totally regret and for which I take personal responsibility. Had I been more skeptical and more aggressive about her care, I believe Chloe would still be with me today. Chloe was only 9½ years old in excellent health and physical condition. In my opinion, she died because I didn't ask the right questions and my Vet waited too long to call me and could not provide her the critical emergency care she needed when she needed it.

Several things happened that were red flags that have led me to draw these conclusions. I share them with you so that you may learn from my mistakes.

Mistake #1: First, Chloe was drooling (a sign of nausea) and could not keep anything down (she kept vomiting). X-rays indicated the presence of pneumonia in her left lung. It was not bacterial. She was already being treated for a bladder infection. Given a prior bladder infection and now pneumonia, it was obvious there was more going on than just a cough and something she inhaled that might have caused pneumonia. We had multiple problems...systemic problems. My Vet sent her home with antibiotics, Pedialyte, and Pepcid. She needed critical care the morning I took her in and they sent her home with antibiotics. I assumed my Vet was correct. This was my first mistake, my unquestioning confidence and trust in my Vet. I should have known better because I have extensive experience with paid professionals who mistakenly believe that knowledge is equivalent to caring.

Mistake #2: When it became obvious that Chloe was not going to keep anything down and she wasn't taking water I called my Vet and said we needed to do something else. He told me to bring her in. He said they would put her on an IV to give her antibiotics and hydrate her. The vet who talked to me sat me down and gave me a full estimate of the costs, approximately $300. I told her $300 or $3,000 do whatever it takes. She indicated that Chloe would be on moderate hospital care overnight and high hospital care the next day. My vet told me that she "guaranteed" that Chloe would recover. Once again, I had complete and total confidence in my Vet. Mistake #2 was assuming that moderate care meant that if Chloe got worse they would do something about it. This mistake was compounded when I failed to ask what they would do if she got significantly worse during the night. My mistake was accepting my Vet's guarantee and not questioning her about what would happen if here condition worsened during the night.

Mistake #3: My third mistake was not checking on Chloe during the night to see how she was doing, under the assumption that she was doing OK and believing that my Vet was correct when she guaranteed she would recover.

Mistake #4: My fourth mistake was not being aware of all of my options and comparing those options prior to having her admitted into the care of my Vet overnight.

Mistake #5: My fifth mistake was being comfortable with a very nice, warm, cordial and friendly Vet who was more concerned about getting paid than he was about getting Chloe to emergency care before it was too late.

Recommendations if You have a Canine Companion, Assistance/Service, SAR, or Working Dog

Recommendation #1: Because a Vet is competent doesn't mean they give a damn. Professionals are paid to provide accurate, reliable, and current information. They are not paid to care. Frequently, they believe that "caring" compromises objectivity under the false assumption that pure objectivity is achievable. What they don't understand is that making decisions with complete objectivity is sociopathic. What it really means is that they justify treating another human being as nothing more than a commodity to be used and exploited for the purpose of their career or business. Understanding how professionals have become educated and acculturated into exercising dehumanizing professional practice is important to understanding the danger and risk of placing your complete trust or confidence in any expert, professional or leader.  To you, your dog is your life and your soul. To an uncaring Vet who may be very competent, your dog is nothing more than an invoice. Select your Vet carefully. Ask if they have ever worked with or cared for service or working dogs. If the only thing they tell you is that they have treated working dogs and you get a discount, thank them and get out of their office as fast as you can. Try to find a Vet who has a family member with a disability who has a working dog or has a personal friend or someone close with a working dog. Even better, find a Vet who currently has or has had a working dog.  Obviously, I changed my Vet. My current Vet's mother was blind and had guide dogs all her life. She understands that when you lose a service dog, you are losing more than a family member. You are losing a partner, part of your heart and soul, and a life support system. A true professional is someone who is highly skilled, knowledgeable and competent, places their knowledge in the service of what they care about, (as opposed to their care in the service of their knowledge) and is willing to listen and learn. I could go on because I have 25 years of professional experience with this issue. Unfortunately, I trusted my Vet, and lost Chloe in the process. Trust is not based on social grace or manners when it comes to educating and treating dogs and people.  It should be based on knowledge exercised with care, compassion, service to others and ultimately love.

Recommendation #2: Know the location and reputation of your emergency veterinary hospitals who provide a full range of critical care and emergency services including surgery 24 hours/7 days a week. Find out what they require if your dog needs immediate emergency care including surgery (some require a deposit) and whether or not you need a referral from another vet for their services. Ask them for printed information and find out whether they have a Vet (not an assistant or technician) present that monitors the status of your dog throughout the night if they are kept overnight. DO THIS BEFORE YOU NEED THE SERVICE! KEEP YOUR INFORMATION UP TO DATE! And use them if you have a sick dog, and you are not sure your Vet can provide the necessary care.

Recommendation #3: NEVER NEVER EVER LEAVE YOUR DOG WITH A VET OVERNIGHT if they are seriously ill or injured WITHOUT determining first whether or not your Vet:

a) has a means of closely monitoring the status of your dog's condition through the night; and,

b) has a Vet (not an assistant or techie) on call or present 24/7 checking the status of your dog's condition through the night.

In addition, you should know whether or not your Vet:

a) has the capacity to deliver emergency critical care including surgery if necessary at any time of day or night on the basis of your dog's condition; or,

b) has the resources to transport your dog immediately to a critical emergency care veterinarian center who can provide immediate critical care services if needed.

I STRONGLY recommend that if your vet has none of these services available or thinks they are not necessary and your dog is sick enough for them to recommend keeping him/her overnight that you take your dog to a vet who provides 24 hour/7 days a week critical care emergency veterinary care services including surgery. You do not want to lose your dog because they have a Vet Assistant or Technician who cannot make competent clinical decisions about your dog's status. This can lead to your dog waiting 6-12 hours for a Vet to mosey on in finding your dog has deteriorated so badly its too late to treat him/her. I am convinced this happened to me...don't let it happen to you.

Recommendation #4: Be VERY suspicious of any professional who's primary concern is getting paid BEFORE they give your dog the care they need. I wasted closed to 15-20 minutes waiting for my Vet's receptionist process the bill and listening to my Vet's explanation about how he couldn't figure out what was wrong with my dog before I finally got Chloe in my vehicle. It was 15-20 minutes that could have saved her life. I am willing to pay top dollar for the best Veterinary care for my dog. Unfortunately, it will take me a very very long time before I ever trust the judgment of a Vet who's primary concern is getting the bill paid no matter how widely recommended they come. I strongly urge you to pay attention to that gut feeling or little voice in your head that is throwing yellow and red flags up about the way you and your dog are being treated. If you FEEL your dog is sick, then ACT as if he/she is sick and get him/her the help they need. Set aside the feelings and opinions of the Vet no matter how nice they may be. They are not your daily partner...your dog is. Even if you are wrong, it is FAR BETTER TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT LITTLE VOICE AND THAT GUT FEELING AND BE WRONG WITH A HEALTHY LIVING PARTNER THAN NOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT LITTLE VOICE AND FIND AFTER YOU HAVE BURIED YOUR DOG THAT YOUR GUT WAS RIGHT.

Recommendation #5: When a Vet says they don't know, tell them to either get some answers or you'll find someone who will. We all know and accept that there are some things that cannot be answered because the science is not complete. I grew up in a family of physicians, scientists and health practitioners. I am a social scientist and I know that NO amount of science will ever make our knowledge complete. However, I have learned that some Vets think its OK to give up on a dog because....hey...its only a dog. I don't want a Vet who tells me he doesn't know and leaves it at that. As far as I am concerned a Vet, is a trained scientist. A scientist is a problem solver. I should have told my Vet to his face, no matter how nice, warm and friendly he was, "Don't tell me 'You don't know!' You make some effort and tell me you are working on trying to figure it out...and if you can't, you advise me to go to someone who can." That's the kind of Vet I want and now have. She is a meticulous, detailed, and aggressive scientist...a problem solver. She keeps working on the problem until she can give me some answers, possibilities or options. Some, if not most, of the answers are probabilities, but she doesn't give up and say, "I don't know." She works on it until the probabilities continue to narrow down. She lays it out and gives me options, many options. That's who I want working on my dog. Someone who is honest and says, "Here's the problem. Here are the possibilities. Here's what we need to do to figure it out or at least narrow it down. And here are your options and risks both in terms of decisions and costs." If I hear another so-called expert professional tell me they can't figure out how to help, so help me God, I think I am going to wipe the puppy urine and poop off the floor with them. Bottom line is, you pay your Vet to do more than weigh your dog, fix skin problems, shove a thermometer up their rectum and worm them. You can do that yourself. I AM NOT TELLING YOU TO EXPECT MIRACLES AND EXACT ANSWERS. Dogs live and die and you can expect to outlive your dog. However, you pay your Vet because they are a highly trained scientist and hold an advanced degree in Veterinary Medicine. Hold them accountable and expect them to behave and perform like a scientist trained in Veterinary Medicine.

The Emotional Aftermath

There is no doubt that I feel significantly responsible for my dog's death. She died in my arms on the way over to a critical care emergency care veterinary center.. Had the Vet called me sooner...had I picked her up sooner and gotten her to the critical Veterinary emergency care center sooner maybe she would have survived...maybe not. But I will never know because I trusted my Vet. I didn't ask the right questions. I had not planned for such an event. And I have a nagging feeling that Chloe may have felt I abandoned her that night. I know she died in my arms the next morning and I remember her very last breath and her very last heart beat. I had one arm and hand on her chest as I cradled her head in crook of my elbow in the other. She was hurting because she cried when we had to stop suddenly. I knew she was sick the night I took her in. I had incredible feelings of foreboding. All I know is I feel I failed her when she gave me so much and asked for so little. She waited to die in my arms and it took everything she had to do that. These are feelings I will live with and maybe someday I will feel differently. I hope but for now, my beloved Chloe is gone, and that is painful beyond imagination. A working dog becomes more than just a family member. They become a part of your life and soul. Remember that when your dog is sick or injured, all they have is YOU.  Do not fail him/her when they depend totally on YOU to make the right decisions. Act on what YOU know and believe about your dog. Demand answers and if you don't get them take your dog to someone who will at least try to get you answers. Never leave your dog to a vet for overnight care, unless they can guarantee you that if your dog's condition worsens, they can and will take other more critical measures and not wait to call you in the morning. Finally, remember science only has so many answers and miracles are not the purview of Veterinary Medicine. Do what you need to do and have faith that you have done all that you can. If you have done all you can, and followed the recommendations above and your dog passes on, know that you and your dog have fought the good fight and your dog knows it too.

Remember the words given me by a little bent-over wise old man who said with a glint in his eye and a little laugh when I told him about Chloe:  "Yes! Yes! She is gone...but not for long! You too will join her one day." So, say a prayer granting your dog the divine peace, joy and beauty they deserve for what they have given you and how they have served you. And live a good and honorable life so that you will have earned the loyalty and devotion of your dog and you may join him/her when the time comes. 

Believe me...it's all you can do after you run out of tears.

TOP

 HOME

Questions?    Comments?    E-mail me at johnson7@mail.sdsu.edu