SCENARIO: OK PEOPLE NEED TO BE HONEST IN HOW DO YOU HANDLE THIS. i year old rescued dog comes in for a routine patella surgery..i am sure one reason the people came here is due to our prices..and i know we are very good at these kind of surgeries..surgery is done on a friday and i just happen to get back from great mexico spay/neuter trip. i am sick saturday and so dont even go down in the morning. meanwhile this shy but very nice little dog is all perky and even toe touching on the surgery leg..as usual all our dogs are walked in the morning and often 2 other times throughout the day..been doing it this way for 25 years..this little dog slips the slip leash and takes off..owner did say later that came from out of the states and does like to run..clearly true but in one respect not relevant..my employee does go after him and then some other employees help..get close but the little on just keeps on running..one person comes back and tells me and i tell them need to call owner and call animal control asap..turns out they get idea from someone were he has gone and take off but my employee loses his phone delaying the call to the owner, probably would have made difference in that they felt like they needed to keep eye on him..dog owner gets call about the same time they are ready to arrive and their dog get hit by a car and killed..yes, killed..these people entrusted their dog to us and by a freak accident he got off the leash, (still trying to sort that out) and killed..owner clearly loves this little guy, truly like part of the family..cant imagine what is going through their minds but we are the bad guys for sure..i do come down to talk to them and truthfully what do you say and what can you say..SORRY is just not going to do it..cant bring their pet back, cant undo that is done.my employee is a good man and clearly cares about animals and is feeling very very bad..as owner i can not charge for the surgery, i can cremate their dog and get the ashes to them, i can and did try my best to look them in the eye and apologize but even to me feels far short..offered to help find new pet but did emphasize that they are all different and would not be a replacement but a new friend..i am proud of the fact that our death rate from surgery is far below the national average and i have always said i believe in human error more than the bullshit most people throw up..i know the first dog i ever killed by mistake and i remember how hard it was to call them the next day when my mind was clear and tell them it was not an aesthetic reaction but my mistake..never have lied to an owner and never will..sure things die and you dont always know why but you must ask yourself what would you do different..you must be critical of yourself and your staff or mistakes will just keep on happening..in this case it is obvious what happened but less obvious what can be done differently..since this has never happen and we do about 18 thousand surgeries a year and see 40,000 pus clients not sure we can change or should change anything..you whole being, carrier, work will should never be judge on one act..good or bad..but shit how do you change this..you cant change the past and makes no sense to worry about outcomes in the future that have not happened..i think maybe this one is hitting home a little more since i just had received word that my step mother had just passed, and not a very good passing either..i feel very very sad for that young couple and i feel worse that their view of me or my clinic will always be so negative.anyone who knows me knows i dont mind blowing off assholes or people i have no respect for but these folks seemed like truly caring people and we did in fact harm them..this is one i will remember at night for the rest of my life..I AM TRULY SORRY FOR THE LOSS OF THAT LITTLE DOG..THERE WILL NEVER BE THE RIGHT WORDS..I KNOW THAT..
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:47:09 +0000
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