I was just watching a story on Good Morning America that literally brought tears to my eyes. It was about a young man who took his dog (a sheltie) to the vet for a routine tooth extraction. Long story short the vet's office kept "putting the people off" when they called as to when they could pick their dog up. By the time they got to see the dog he was found to be gravely ill. They rushed him to an emergency vet and after 15 hours of horrible suffering the dog died. The first vet felt there was a pre-existing condition and had contacted the emergency vets on the phone to tell them this while the young man was enroute with the dog.

The question came up regarding lawsuits against veterinarians. I am not a fan of frivolous laws suits and there have been a glut of them in the media in the past (remember the woman who sued McDonald's because she spilled hot coffee on herself?) This I feel is different. For those who may not be aware, a pet is considered chattel (a possession) and not on par with the companion that those of us feel they are. The young man said his sheltie was every bit a family member and felt the pain and suffering just as any living breathing human would feel.

I have to say I agree totally. I had a VERY bad experience years ago with one of my poodles after a routine spaying. Her front teeth were sheered off, supposedly by her own doing on the bars of the cage after she came out of the anesthesia (and I am not questioning the vet here). The problem I had was that this was not told to me when I went to pick her up and I discovered the missing teeth when I got home. When I called him right away to question this, he said he did see blood coming out of her mouth but assumed she bit her tongue! He never investigated where the blood was coming from! We had gone as far as seeking and finding a dentist that would do the necessary dental work to restore her teeth and contacted a lawyer to sue for damages. That's when I realized they are considered "chattel."

I truly think that vets should be held equally accountable when it comes to the animals they are treating. If pets are family members then shouldn't they be treated as such if something goes wrong with their care?