Today, one of my favorite patients was euthanized. And due to a particularly cruel twist of fate, I was unable to be there to say goodbye.
She hadn't been a patient for long. She was a rescue dog, owned by a young man and his girlfriend. I'd venture to get the young man had the dog before the girlfriend and I suspect the girlfriend resented it. The owners are not...how does one say politely...eligible to Mensa membership? Likely to be offered Rhodes Scholarships? They're not smart. Not even close. But, like most folks in their position, totally unaware of their shortcomings, believed they were smarter than me and KNEW FOR DAMN SURE the internet was smarter than me.
I saw this darling pup after she'd been sick for 2 years, but had only been losing weight for 1 year. On initial exam, I felt for the pair when they expressed dismay that no other vets had listened to them. Their dog is sick, they know it, but no one will take them seriously! Well, turns out they were chronic clinic hoppers and never provided previous records or followup, so I'm sure every clinic they went to started with the same basic tests and first line medications because - who wouldn't without previous records? That's what I did and asked for a 1 week follow up. One month later (after they didn't return my calls to see how the dog was doing), I got a request for records to another clinic. Sigh.
About a week after that, Miss Owner called me up, demanded I prescribe a fairly specific medication and informed me I misdiagnosed her dog. I reminded her that I hadn't actually diagnosed her dog. Well, they went to a specialist and the specialist said... I politely requested they have the specialist send me the notes from the visit. I know, dear reader, this will come as a shock, but the specialist did NOT say...
We had a small come to Jesus moment on the phone then & there - are you working with me or are you on your own program? Because if you're working with me here are the ground rules. You will follow medication directions, you will not go off on your own program and you WILL communicate! I feared at this time the dog was already a lost cause, having been sick for 2 years, but I was willing to give it a shot. And give it a shot, we did. Including keeping the dog at the clinic for a solid week so that I could medicate her to know how she was doing and if she wasn't getting better because it wasn't working or because they weren't following instructions. While she was with us, we used to sit outside in the grass and enjoy the sunshine. Sometimes she's snuff around on a long leash, investigating the smells and even dig a bit. Sometimes she'd roll in the grass and roll down the hill. Sometimes she'd sit with me, and lay her head in my lap and close her eyes while I stroked her head. We were definitely pals.
On a separate note, they were convinced this dog was aggressive. She showed ZERO aggression while she was with us. Never even offered. But to hear them tell it, she was Kujo's twin at home. Makes one wonder...
They called this morning, my day off, saying she wasn't doing well and wanted to talk to me. Sadly I was unavailable, and they ended up making an appointment to come in. I could not unencumber myself quickly enough to get to my work to meet with them, and they elected euthanasia. Probably the right answer as now the dog was leaking protein (I'm assuming, based on their description of clinical signs). But I guess the owners would not pick up the dog, insisted she be muzzled, wanted the muzzle off and then immediately remuzzled her because she was "snarling" at the staff. Except that she wasn't.
So I feel horrible that my favorite patient, who I only knew for 2 months, died today and I wasn't there to be with her. Because she should not have died with a muzzle on.
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