My friend Renee (best friend since middle school) had to take her dog Redd to be put down yesterday. He had a tear in his stomach and apparently bacteria seeped into his blood stream and they told her he would have died anyway and there was nothing that could have been done. I don't want to ask her the details about the situation because I'm sure she is pretty distraught right now but I am stressing out over it because the vet who put him down was the same vet we took Bauer to and this guy ended up being (or seeming at least) very incompetent.

I feel worse because what if it was something that could have been avoided? I don't even know if she would have been able to afford surgery anyway, and maybe she would have had to put him down regardless; but still. I spent the morning looking up stomach tears in Dachshunds (because I know they are especially prone to some funky medical issues) and other dogs and all I came up with is that ulcers, if left untreated or unidentified, can often lead to tears that can quickly cause death. It bothers me because a while ago she had mentioned in passing that her dog was seeing the same vet as us at the time and I didn't tell her to go see somebody else after we decided to switch vets because we realized this guy had no clue what he was doing.

I just feel awful and am particularly saddened by all of this because I would die if it were one of the boys and they had to be put down because of that idiot and not because it was actually something that couldn't have been repaired with emergency surgery. Still I can't bring myself to bring it up to her.

She always came to me for advice with Redd because she had little experience dealing with pets. I don't even know if she would have known to ask the right questions that could have potentially made a difference. For all I know she trusted entirely in what the vet told her and that was the end of it.

Redd was her first pet and she got him a little over 3 years ago when she was 20. She had been afraid of dogs throughout all of her childhood but she fell in love with that little hot dog. I am just so sad for her... and I have this pit in my stomach right now that will not part with me.

/sigh

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That is horrible!!! I think that somethings are really better left unsaid. I know it has to be hard for her, loosing a pet is like loosing a family member! Its really hard, I dont think that beating yourself up about not telling her about the quack will do any good. You never know what the situation was or what it could have beenand you cant feel gulity about not stepping in and saying something. Especially now , that cant be the last thing she remembers about her baby, it will eat at her for a long time.I think the best thing is put those feelings aside for now and help her get through it and recover! I hope things are better soon, and please dont beat yourself up you have two little boys to look after and I am sure they will pep you up in no time!

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Awww that's terrible

I just bought and mailed her this.



It was the reddest one I could find.

Thanks for your kind words.

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aw your poor friend. Likewise dont beat yourself up over it.
I think bkilgore is right, some things are left unsaid.

Sorry to hear this.

Whatever you do don't blame yourself for not telling her to change vets. Who's to say another vet would have done anything differently? It's a whole lot of ifs and buts and not somewhere you want to go.

Just support each other and grieve

Thank you Becky, Fenstar, and Jo. Today is another day... and tomorrow...

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so sad...my daughters best friend also lost her dog last week.. she is 22 and had had him since she was about 7...such a sad time - they are part of the family and the sense of loss is just as deep.....your friend is very lucky to have a someone who understands and cares so deeply ...

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