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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

very sick puppy - hand holding please

260 replies

namechange74 · 12/02/2014 14:58

My pup was castrated yesterday due to a lost testicle - we were advised this was sensible as it could cause cancer in later life if not removed. I collected him from the vets at 2pm and he has been vomiting ever since - all through the night, all day today. He can't even keep water down. He is clearly disorientated and occasionally gets up and tries to run somewhere before falling over.
I am so worried and upset. I've called the vets and am taking him at 3:30 but sat here and just wanted some support really before i go.

OP posts:
shallweshop · 19/02/2014 22:08

Just read the whole thread and am appalled at the treatment your little pup received initially. Its a very worrying time for you and I really hope he pulls through. Keeping everything crossed.

Original poster
namechange74 · 19/02/2014 22:16

Thanks everyone, it's been the longest week. Also got a long wait now til friday afternoon when they do another blood test to see if he's got better or worse. Vet said he could well worsen... not quite sure how this could get worse.

Why do i keep thinking i can see him?!!

OP posts:
LEMmingaround · 19/02/2014 22:24

Oh I am so sorry OP, how awful for you :( I am so angry on your behalf. That vet should NEVER have sent that dog home - im an ex vet nurse and we never sent a dog home until it was able to walk around normally and most of them stun their owners by jumping all over them - they are generally like this within about an hour of the op. So the fact that he wasn't should have been ringing alarm bells. I am utterly incredulous that he treated you the way he did. If i were you i would ask be given a record of the anaesthetic - when i worked at the vets we would monitor an note oxygen levels, heart rate and BP during an operation to see if there were any noticable blips in his observations during the op. Please please please make a complaint about this bastard the RCVS will take this seriously. The second vet will happily write you a report of how your dog presented and the RCVS will be able to draw their own conclusions.

Things go wrong sometimes, sometimes there are underlying conditions that would make a dog react badly to aneasthesia, it happens, but the fact that it either wasn't picked up during the op or afterwards, and then when a problem was flagged up, they dismissed it - my blood is boiling for you.

The fact remains that your dog should have been put on a drip the day after the op, well actually immediately post op as i can't believe there wasn't a massive drop in BP, they should have picked this up. I really hope that once his kidneys are given a bit of support, i assume he will be on a drip now and will have some steroids to help boost the kidney function that he pulls through.

Flowers
LEMmingaround · 19/02/2014 22:25

Oh, we would never send an animal home just an hour post op - we always kept them in for the day so we could ensure all was well before we sent them home - what time did they send your dog home OP?

pinkbraces · 19/02/2014 22:30

Please please ask your vet to check for Addison's disease. I have a labradoodle, 2 years ago she went under anaesthetic to have her ears cleaned. When she came round she was poorly for about 3 days. Sickness, didn't go to the toilet, couldn't eat, wouldn't drink.

We ended up at the anal hospital at Liverpool university, she was diagnosed with Addison's. They kept her in for a week. She is now on meds for life but has no apparent illness and is a normal loopy doodle.

Please ask your vet to test your dog

pinkbraces · 19/02/2014 22:31

Animal hospital, not anal!

Original poster
namechange74 · 19/02/2014 22:31

Hi Lem thanks for taking the time to write. I will ask for the record from the first vet although i can't imagine they will be keen to pass it on - do they have to legally?
The day after the surgery when i called to say he was very sick, listless, hadn't had a wee i rang in the morning and was told to go at 3;30. When i pulled into the car park i saw the vet sat in the waiting room and he almost ran away when he saw me approach, he then kept me waiting (no other patients) for 40 minutes - just to give you an insight into how remiss he was with me. Another thing that alarmed me was the size of 'collar'(cone thing) he was given by the vet. It was for a cat. (My MIL told me this - i've never had a dog or an animal requiring one) My DH returned to the vets the day post op to get a larger one. The new vets said the SECOND collar was far too small too and they put a new one on him immediately. Nothing adds up - I'm starting to wonder if he is actually qualified? Stitching was crap, bedside manner was crap, he fobbed me off and was rude, collar was for a cat not a mid sized dog...

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange74 · 19/02/2014 22:33

Lem he was in at 10am for surgery and we collected him at 1pm. They said he was still asleep and we offered to return (it's only 5 minutes away) but they said 'no, no we will give something to bring him round' - when they passed him to me his eyes were rolling to the back of his head and he was shaking uncontrollably...

OP posts:
LEMmingaround · 19/02/2014 23:06

That is outrageous! We never sent an animal home before 3.30 - partly because that would be when a nurse would be free to discuss after-care and answer any questions, but mostly so that we could observe them and make sure there were no complications. the only time we would send them home earlier is if there were barking the place down and disturbing the other patients.

It all sounds really wrong - they do tend to shake as they are coming round from the anaesthesia - but this is generally as they first come round. When i was nursing we would start to wake the dogs up (reduce the amount of anesthetic in the mix with oxygen) as the vets were stitching up and expect the dogs to come round relatively quickly. They take longer to come round if they have been under for a long time, but castration is a straight-foreward operation and doesn't take long, ok an undescended testicle would take a bit longer but not significantly more, unless there were complications? I think there are alot of questions to be answered here. I think your next move should be to contact the royal college and they will advise you on how to make a complaint.

If your dog is insured it might be worth checking the policy as post-op complications should be covered even if it was a non emergency/routine op.

I really hope he is OK.

fanoftheinvisibleman · 19/02/2014 23:40

So very sorry to hear about your pup.

Nothing I can add better than the professionals here hut wanted to say when we picked our boy up it was at 4pm and he walked out on his lead after insisting on going round all the nurses for a hug. The treatment sounds appalling Sad

Original poster
namechange74 · 20/02/2014 04:58

Thanks for replies all. I'm in no doubt that his treatment was awful, I feel so guilty that it was my decision to put him in there. I can't sleep worrying about him, my eyes are swollen shut from crying. Waiting is so hard... It's half term and my poor DD isn't doing anything nice, just watching me fall apart... Sorry, lonely in the night: all feels really shit.

OP posts:
Helpyourself · 20/02/2014 05:07
Flowers Good Luck. Try and get some sleep or at least rest your eyes.
basildonbond · 20/02/2014 06:10

Namechange - so sorry to hear this - I really really hope little namechange pulls through

Original poster
namechange74 · 20/02/2014 06:34

Thanks both, I've got up, had a shower, made a coffee and am trying to pull myself together before DD gets up. Going to take her to Build a Bear this morning for a treat, I've just arranged for her to go to a friends' tomorrow to play - if our boy has to be put down i think it'll be tomorrow. Do you think she should come? I want her to be able to say goodbye, but don't know if her seeing him 'go' is the right thing to do? she is 8 btw and really really adores him... My DH is coming home later this afternoon so we are going to the vets for a visit.

OP posts:
HellsGranny · 20/02/2014 06:45

I'm so sorry about your boy. It must be heartbreaking. Please try not to feel guilty, you weren't to know this would happen, you thought you were doing what was best for him. X

Dinnaeknowshitfromclay · 20/02/2014 06:56

RCVS Website. Complaints. Download a form, fill it out in minute detail (what was said when etc.). Get your new vet to get the notes from the old vet for you, don't ask for it yourself, the new vet is entitled to it. Ask the new vet for a copy. Trust me

Original poster
namechange74 · 20/02/2014 07:03

I'm downloading the form now. I have no doubt he was negligent, but also rude, dismissive and lazy. I know it wont help my boy but i would really like him to have a kick up the arse to realise his mistake, so as not to be so slack in the future. Like my husband said, it was a case of bare minimum - well, not even that really. Please pray for him, if you met him you'd love him!

OP posts:
Helpyourself · 20/02/2014 07:19

((Hugs))

Original poster
namechange74 · 20/02/2014 07:22

thank you xx

OP posts:
MeMySonAndI · 20/02/2014 07:36

Sorry to hear your pup is so ill, and you both were so badly taken care of.
I hope things improve today, best of luck.

BettyMacDonald · 20/02/2014 07:37

Sending your lovely boy and all of you lots of positive thoughts xx

cashewfrenzy · 20/02/2014 07:51

:( so sorry to hear this. It may well be that there was an underlying reason for your pup to go into renal failure which wasn't evident at the outset, but that's not really the point. The way this has been handled and the way your concerns have been dismissed is really terrible. Sending positive vibes x

Original poster
namechange74 · 20/02/2014 07:52

thanks very much you lovely people. x

OP posts:
punter · 20/02/2014 07:54

So sad for your experiences. The first vet sounds awful, in my experience dogs would never fake an illness, they would instead try to be normal as much as possible to please the owner.
Thinking of you and your pup, please get this surgery shut down!

Dinnaeknowshitfromclay · 20/02/2014 07:58

In the event where the pup had an underlying condition, a drip and supportive medication as soon as an abnormal recovery is flagged would have bought you loads of time. In my practice (and most I have worked in) your pup would have been in, bloods taken and run and on a drip and meds before you could say 'disgraceful conduct'. For him to say no dog would dehydrate to death is as scary as it gets in a healthcare professional of any sort but for a vet to say it is appalling. Humans can say if they have a dry mouth and a pounding headache but all animals do is tent, loll about and look rough.