To ask wtf happened?

[ifonerememberstoturnonthelight]

Right so I rescued our neighbours dog from neglect and sadly after 2 weeks of treatment and love his condition deteriorated and he had a massive stroke so needed putting down it was awful and I felt so shitty about doing it.

My issue is..

Keith had to be put to sleep outside on the grass of the vets because of COVID. So the lovely vet hung the bag of fluid on the washing line outside the vet and Keith was laid underneath it, then the drugs injected to the iv so the vet could distance from us etc. However when it had been confirmed that he had passed away we stood up to go back to the car and it turned out that behind us literally 2 foot away was a family (mum and kids) having a picnic of Burger King on the grass in the rain at 7pm whilst the dad revved the engine of the car.

I get that cars break down and I get that kids need to eat but it was very obvious a dog was being put to sleep at the time. Id just like to ask the vet if they could have given us more privacy or asked them to move? I dnno. Maybe I'm overreacting. But it was the most surreal experience of my life having just said goodbye to a lovely dog to turn around and see a family having a picnic next to us. I mean I nearly stepped on the kid!

So sorry to hear about the dog, poor boy❤️
What would you get out of speaking to the vet after it has happened? You could put a complaint in I suppose, although the people chose to sit there so does the vet have the right to ask them to move?
Rest in peace Keith x

Couldn't the vet have come out to you ?

@Anordinarymum I would have liked them to come out tbh. She asked us to move away from him as she needed to check he had passed away and he actually hadn't so he gave him more medication and we went back to him. It was really traumatic tbh

Were you on the vet's property or was it the grass verge?

I would be wondering what kind of mother would have a picnic in the rain and let her children watch a dog being euthanized? She is the one who should have moved away. I would have fed my children in the car before I let them view that as "entertainment".

@omega3 it was the vets property. As soon as you turn into the car park it's abundantly clear it's a vets. There's a car park for 15 cars, the front door is in the car park and faces the cars. Then round the side of the building is a side door and in front of that is a garden where they dry the bedding for the dogs on a washing line. We were underneath the washing line. Very obviously saying goodbye to him

I'm so sorry about your dog, to have a family there having a picnic was of course totally inappropriate. I can only assume that what seemed obvious to you wasn't to them. You could mention it to the vets in case they can put a sign up or some fencing or something if they are treating animals outside when they didn't previously ?

It's a bit unusual. If you didn't notice them until you turned around to leave, at least they weren't making any noise and didn't disturb you?

In that scenario I would have thought the vet should have asked them to please move off their property and enjoy their picnic somewhere more appropriate.

Ignoring them sitting right next to you (on the part of the vet) as your dog dies seems weird. It'd be different if it was public land like a park, although it would also be odd to have an animal pts on public land...

I suppose the vet may have been dumbfounded at the odd people's behavior, but not wanted to draw attention to it in case a scene upset you more. In that case, a bit of feedback to the surgery that it made you uncomfortable might be helpful.

I don't know what you could do now but why are the vets doing this outside? Covid isn't a reason. My old boy was put to sleep during lockdown. They did it inside. I was allowed to go in, we maintained social distancing, and the vet used an extra long line to administer the drugs so I could stroke him while it happened. It was heartbreaking but I was so glad I could be with him and it was done in private. All other appointments involve the vet collecting pets from the car park for examination, the owners remain outside. But some things are too important.

Could you tell them how you feel but with suggestions of how to make it better for others? I can't believe that family just sat there!

I think I'd just like a sign maybe? Like please don't intrude on the grass when people are there? I dnno.

Our vets have a closed door policy still due to COVID. We're in a high risk area and the vet is in greater Manchester so they pick the dog from the car. You get out of the car one side and the vet collects the dog from the other side then they ring you with any results etc. Our options for having PTS were outside in the rain on the grass or he went alone with the vet and they gave us his collar afterwards

Oh gosh that’s awful. Poor dog. 😢

I agree with asking the vet to enforce that his land is private property.

It’s disgusting. That is just awful. This has all gone far too far.

Sorry about your dog. I think you need to let this go though and gain a little perspective. Not so long ago a 13 year old child died alone without his family because of the restrictions.
It’s sad but you got to at least be there

I know many vets still have this closed door policy and I understand that they want to maintain distance but I feel, certainly at my practice, that some of it is because they prefer keeping the owners outside so that they can treat the animal without interference. I feel that in the case of putting an animal down they should make an exception. I have seen my GP, my dentist, the hygienist and a hospital appointment without issue...why a vets the exception.

Get some perspective love. It was no ones fault. We are all in a shitty situation and trying to make the best of it. Put your big girl pants on and move on

Vets need to stop this now. It’s perfectly possible to protect yourself from Covid risk with masks aprons and hand washing. I am in Public facing healthcare and Manage this daily. Really sorry about your dog xx

Sorry about the dog, poor thing,

Just im a bit confused. You stood up to notice a family, 2 feet away? If they were so close surely something could have been said?

Vets are in an awful position. If they get contacted by track and trace the business shuts down down for 2 weeks as there's often not enough staff to run 2 separate groups of staff on a rota system. They can't treat animals if they're closed for two weeks. That's why they are keeping patients owners away or meeting outside. The vet isn't at fault here. The family are.

We had our lovely old dog put to sleep during lockdown he was 18 and had numerous health problems. The vets were brilliant we were allowed into the treatment room and stayed with him the entire time apart from when the iv was being attached. We have his ashes and they sent me his paw prints and a lovely card a few weeks later x

They might be like those people who hang about uselessly when someone has an accident in the street "Oh , I know I cannot do anything but it seems rude to walk away"

Hats off to Keith though after everything he endured with his previous "owner" that it took 2 lots of medication to send him across The Bridge . Tenacious little bugger !

Maybe the Vets have had issues before and they'd had abuse from people so now just ignore and get on with their work?

I’m very sorry the poor dog had to die so soon after you rescuing him but I don’t think anyone’s at fault here. The family pulled over in the rain in the twilight to eat their meal and probably didn’t notice what was going on. Until I read this I’d never heard of an animal being PTS outdoors (apart from horses on race courses) so it would never have occurred to me that such a thing was happening. I don’t think they can be blamed for not noticing or realising.

Yes the vet could have asked them to move on but he/she was probably focussed on the animal under their care, not on what was happening in the car park.

You were doing something stressful and upsetting which may have made you extra sensitive. There was no way this could have been made a happy or positive experience. I’m sure this family didn’t help but equally they probably didn’t actually make it any worse

@Thecobwebsarewinning

I’m very sorry the poor dog had to die so soon after you rescuing him but I don’t think anyone’s at fault here. The family pulled over in the rain in the twilight to eat their meal and probably didn’t notice what was going on. Until I read this I’d never heard of an animal being PTS outdoors (apart from horses on race courses) so it would never have occurred to me that such a thing was happening. I don’t think they can be blamed for not noticing or realising.

Yes the vet could have asked them to move on but he/she was probably focussed on the animal under their care, not on what was happening in the car park.

You were doing something stressful and upsetting which may have made you extra sensitive. There was no way this could have been made a happy or positive experience. I’m sure this family didn’t help but equally they probably didn’t actually make it any worse

Great post. Was the a car parked in the vet’s car park? What did the vet say about that?

I'm so sorry for poor Keith, at least he is no longer suffering and sounds like he had a lot of love in his last few days.

However, since you weren't aware of the family until after Keith had passed, I am not sure what is the problem? It's not nice to know that someone may have been watching or listening to you talking to him or crying, but they are strangers so what does it matter in reality?

Also, as a pp said, they probably weren't aware that Keith was actually being put to sleep, probably just thought he was bring treated. It's still weird that a mother would let their child watch that, but any trauma the children may or may not suffer when they realise what was actually happening (which they might not anyway) is down to her. If you hadn't been aware of them, especially given you said that the dad was revving the car engine, chances are they had only been there a short time otherwise you would have looked round earlier and seen them. The vet might have seen them but hadn't wanted to disturb the moment if he reaslised it was almost Keith's time.

Sad situation but one I think you have to put behind you as "one of those things", at least you were there for him at the end.

How sad about your dog, everything has had to change so much in the way things are done since covid

I'm another one who's confused about the picnic issue though ~ you nearly stepped on the child while he and the family were having a picnic in the rain so everything must have been laid out while the vet was working and they were only 2 foot away and nobody heard anything.