Vet Clinic Fakes Dog's Death

[sammy101]

:eek:

Lawsuit Alleges Pa. Vet Clinic Faked Dog's Death

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania animal hospital has been sued by a couple who had brought their dog in to be euthanized but later found out it had been given away.

Dana and Gary Ganyer said they had decided to have their 2-year-old German shepherd Annie put to sleep on 2005 because of an ailment that caused frequent and debilitating seizures. But instead, they claimed, the Mill Pond Veterinary Clinic in Milford, Pa., gave her a sedative that made her appear dead and later gave her to a new owner.

The lawsuit, which was recently filed in Bucks County, alleges a former clinic employee told them they were considered heartless and that the clinic had devised a plan to "rescue" the dog.

Dana Gayner said she's "totally torn up" that a vet could do such a thing.

The new owner later had Annie euthanized after after she lapsed into a coma-like state.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/9091508/detail.html

[king2005]

OMG, the owners were trying to save their pet from a horrible life! There was nothing cruel about that! & the poor dog ended up suffering in the end too, thats soo sad :(

[.sarah]

Here's a more descriptive article. (http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/29/faked.euthanasia.ap/index.html?section=cnn_topstories)

I'm really not sure what to think about this one. On one hand, it sounds like the dog was suffering and should have been PTS. On the other hand, it sounds like the dog didn't suffer as frequently once she was rehomed. It's kind of hard to tell where I stand just from this article.

We did something similar when I worked at a vet - though the owners wanted to put their dog down because she was covered in Mange. Needless to say we found a rescue to take her instead of euthanizing her.

[king2005]

The dog was suffering, the owners thought they were doing the right thing to put their dog down. I agree with their decission & can only imagin how horrible they must have felt when they discovered their dog was still alive & not only that but the poor thing had to suffer into a coma !!!!

[.sarah]

Nevermind, I forgot that they said the seizures were dibilitating. Forget what I said.

[king2005]

Nevermind, I forgot that they said the seizures were dibilitating. Forget what I said.

Its ok :)

[elizabethann]

This is so sad. I keep thinking about the dog and how he ended up living his last part of his life with a stranger. He must have been scared and wondering where his family is. The stranger may have loved him & cared for him, but the dog must have been so confused.

I just want to go home & hug my kitties and dog. :(

[elizabethann]

This is so sad. I keep thinking about the dog and how he ended up living his last part of his life with a stranger. He must have been scared and wondering where his family is. The stranger may have loved him & cared for him, but the dog must have been so confused.

I just want to go home & hug my kitties and dog. :(

I mean she/her.

[WolvesRawk]

Well, this wouldn't have been bad if the dog wasn't suffering, but since they had a reason to put it down, the vet clinic shouldn't have done that. But when people want their naimals put down for no reason, then they should be rescued. Those vets must not have had much experience if they were unable to tell that the dog was in a critical condition and needed to be put down.

[Scooby4]

We have a "Pet Rescue" place in our town that is run semi-individual. The person running the place gets donations from the public and has their own "tele-commercial" on a cable channel.
Here's my issue with this. The person brings on a dog or a cat and tells the previous owner's story of why they gave up the pet! :eek: The stories are things along the lines of ... Had to move out of state for a new job... Owner was put in nursing home no one could keep the pet for them... Someone found the dog but couldn't keep it...etc.
However, this person make it seem like the previous owner or the person who brought in the pet was a horrible person! :mad: They act like the pet's owner was totally ungracious or uncaring that they gave them the pet! :mad:
Anyone who's EVER been forced to give up a pet knows it was NOT easy and they are NOT a horrible person for doing such a thing! NOT everyone is cut out for pet ownership nor are they capable of the supposed "care level" that people think all owners should do.
This story reminded me of this Rescue person. No matter what the "excuse" is that a pet is being "given up" for is NOT good enough. Someone at this vet's office took it upon themselves to "judge" the care and love of this dog. Their excuse for doing a "hidden rescue" was that in their opinion the dog could have lived if it was given "better care". :rolleyes: Who were they to judge? I hope they win their suit!
This story hits close to home. I had a German Shepard named Annie a few years ago I adopted shortly. I can understand their heartbreak in their decision in putting the dog to sleep. I had to put Annie up for adoption because of Scooby and her fighting. She's now a rescue dog! :cool:

[jackie]

Here's my issue with this. The person brings on a dog or a cat and tells the previous owner's story of why they gave up the pet! The stories are things along the lines of ... Had to move out of state for a new job... Owner was put in nursing home no one could keep the pet for them... Someone found the dog but couldn't keep it...etc.They act like the pet's owner was totally ungracious or uncaring that they gave them the pet!

^Unless they are naming the people who put the dogs up for adoption, I see no problem with this.



As for the poor GSD, I am really am torn. I can see why the owners are so upset, but there must have been a reason for the vet to try and pull a stunt like this. I mean he/she is really putting his job on the line, so there must have been a good reason. Perhaps the owners didn't want to pay for medications to control the seizures. :confused: What a sad story.

[Lori Jordan]

That is just wrong as i have said before nothing surprises me now ya have to wonder where these peoples minds are at i dont know what i would do if something happend like this to one of mine i think i would loose it that poor family :mad:

[critter crazy]

the vet that did this should loose his liscence as far as i am concerend!! unbelieveable!! I had to put my rotti down this past christmas because of lymphoma and various other problems!! if i found out that they had not put him down and just gave him to someone else i would be furious!!! not only for being lied to, but for the health of my dog!! that is just cruel and inhumane!! I didnt want to put my dog down, but i knew it was for the best!! I could no longer watch him suffer!! this is just an outrages thing to hear happen!!

[LoudLou]

Allow me to share a somewhat similar story:

My mother had a dog, Twiggy. She inherited Twiggy when she did Elder Care. The former owner passed away and my mother took Twiggy. Twiggy was about 14 years old and while with my mother lived a much pampered life. Twiggy was diagnosed with a type of nose cancer when she was about 17 years old. My mother opted for surgery and that prolonged Twiggy’s life for a few months. When it was evident that she was in pain and no longer enjoyed life, my mother and her vet decided it was time to put Twiggy down.

My mother made the appointment. A new vet working in the same office suggested an experimental new procedure to prolong Twiggy’s life, however could not guarantee the survival rate. My mother decided to go through with putting Twiggy down. When the time came my mother was way too upset to stay at the vets, so she dropped Twiggy off and made arraignments to pick up her ashes.


My mother was billed for euthanasia and cremation. The office even signed and sent a sympathy card.

A week later my mother gets a call from a friend who fosters dogs. (We live in a small town of about 8,000) The friend was asked by the vet’s office to foster this dog who had been given up by someone who no longer wanted the dog. Long story short the dog was my mother’s Twiggy! Instead of putting her down they did the experimental surgery. Needless to say off to the vet we went wanting an explanation… we got a shoulder shrug a very lame “I’m sorry. Here’s your dog back. We will cancel all bills.” Twiggy lived another month and died in the middle of the night after much suffering. My mother sat up with her in the middle of the night and it was very traumatic for both. (We have no Emergency Vets in the area. They are about 90 minutes away.) This was exactly the suffering my mother did not want Twiggy to go through.

According to the Washington Veterinary Board of Governors this happens far more often than anyone knows. While it is unethical, and frowned upon it does happen. Since this happened to my mother and not me, I was not able to file a complaint. However, this vet lost a lot of business. I do not hesitate to share Twiggy’s Story.

In this small town we only have about 3 Vet’s. When I removed LOUD Louie from this Vet’s care and went to another. I made sure they knew why we were switching vets. They informed us that they had heard that same complaint from about Twiggy’s vet from many people.

I hope these people in Allentown, Pa., win. I am thankful that their newspaper printed at least a tiny story on the matter… our local paper wouldn’t even touch Twiggy’s Story!

[Lori Jordan]

Your poor mother she was doing the dog right,as i have said the good thing about being an animal is that they do not have to suffer"That may sound horrible but it is the truth,I dont want to think about loosing my babies but when it is there time i will do whatever i can to keep them from suffering,May Twiggy rest in peace now!!I have a friend that lost his dog last fall i was so mad at him the dog was bleeding from both ends wierd thing was he was so sick he could not move within 2 days he was running around acting like a puppy,I told them over and over get him into the vet and they never did 2 weeks later Percy was found out in his dog house gone,They had said to me that they would shoot him before putting him down i dont know how anybody could do such a thing but some people,Now these people are great people but Scotts dad was like that he never took the time to get the animals in he delt with it himself,But they were also farmers i dont know but i think that he was so used to the way he seen everyone else with the animals,Anyways Percy was 17 rotti shepherd mix he will not be forgotten!!he was one of a kind and i miss him everyday!

[Cataholic]

Loudlou- WOW. I am so sorry to hear the story about Twiggy, and what your family went through That made me really sad. :(

To think they actually billed you, that sounds alot like fraud, to me.

[Scooby4]

I have to say this post opened my eyes! :eek: When I put Dirtnap down, I had gotten a reference from our city's animal control officer. Our animal control office is too small to hold more than 5 animals so they often keep them at local vets offices. When they have to put an animal down, they use this vet they recommended. So I knew he wouldn't try to "talk me into additional care".
Dirtnap was mostly deaf, had arthritis, Cataracts, was over 12 years old, had rotted teeth, and sores/growths over it's body. I suspected possible cancer undiagnosed since he was very sensitive to the touch at times. I only adopted Dirtnap (original name Nicky) so the family who owned it would not see him put to sleep. His owner was confined to a wheelchair and had moved in with her son who could not keep the dog. I felt letting them know the dog went to a good home to live out it's days would be a comfort. They were informed of my plans to eventually put "Dirtnap" to sleep when the time came. He lived with me for almost a year before being put to sleep.
I did change his name to "dirtnap" so I wouldn't get attached and the dog couldn't hear anyways. Of course, I got attached :rolleyes: and I promised to be there when the doctor finally put him down. I petted him until he passed away peacefully.
I feared the whole time that someone might have thought I hadn't done enough for this dog. That they would refuse to put the dog to sleep. I actually did have 2 vets who did refuse when I asked. They didn't know the entire story as the family of the dog had requested and supported the decision to put the dog to sleep. I had also done alot of rehabilitation on the dog and it's health had improved greatly by the time the vets had seen him. It was after a surprise incident where the dog had actually began acting aggressively out of the clear blue and had clear senility issues that I found the vet that agreed to put him down. (Dirtnap actually tried to attack and bite me without warning and had a "dazed" look like he didn't know where he was. It was clear that senility was setting in.)
Putting an animal down is never an easy decision. It takes a long time to allow the idea to "set in" and be accepted. Dirtnap lived with me for almost a year before I allowed myself to follow through with the plans to put him down. It would have ripped me to pieces to find out someone "switched" and adopted the dog out instead! Maybe he had a few more months but in what condition? He wasn't getting any better and it was a constant fear of never knowing if I could freely pet him without risk of him snapping.

[sammy101]

LoudLou-how terrible :(
When we put by RB girls to sleep, my mom and dad were with them when they put them down. :( Its very scary that some vets would actualyl do this. But, if a owner comes in to put the dog to sleep 'just because' i would send the dog to a rescue.

[shihtzulover850]

How terrible that the vet would do that!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[king2005]

Loudlou I'm so sorry to read about that poor pup & your mother :(
My old dog was wrongfully PTS & I think that getting his body back kind of helped & let me know he really was gone. The first thing I did was to make sure it really was him, saddly it was. all his lumps & scars were there :(

This is just another reason why I hate vets