Posted on 04/30/2014 1:20:12 PM PDT by Mount Athos
A Texas family were shocked to discover last week that their 5-year-old Leonberger named Sid they thought was put down six months ago was being secretly kept by a veterinarian and tapped for blood transfusions.
Marian Harris, of Aledo, says that last October, she gave long-time veterinarian Dr Lou Tierce permission to euthanize Sid after the doctor told her that the pup was suffering from a congenital spinal disorder.
But last Monday, Mrs Harris got a call from a former employee at the animal clinic telling her that her dog has been kept alive in a cage for the past six months.
The mother of two from Aledo said her pet, which was supposedly terminally ill, was able to walk and jump into her minivan on his own when she came to rescue him.
The family drove the pooch to another clinic, where a veterinarian determined that Sid did not need to be put down at all.
On Tuesday, police officers descended on Camp Bowie clinic in the 5700 block of Lovell Avenue and seized two more dogs as evidence.
The veterinarian who evaluated Sid after his dramatic rescue found that the 5-year-old dog had mange and showed definite signs of having been used for blood transfusions.
Ms Brewer revealed that there was also a cat that Dr Tierce was supposed to put down because he had abscess in his mouth and could not eat.
Fort Worth police and the Tarrant County District Attorney will make a determination whether any criminal animal abuse charges will be filed against Dr Tierce - a licensed veterinarian since 1966 with a clean record.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Always get the body.
My God,this has made me more upset than anything I have read in a long time.
.
Should have said earlier I heavily edited article to pick out key parts, much more detail in original link.
Yup, or at least be there during the euthanasia.
I have always been present for my dogs’ last moments, as I wouldn’t dream of letting them die alone. These owners strike me as negligent.
What do people think, that there’s some kind of
doggie blood bank? It’s not uncommon although usually
it’s ownerless dogs.
My cousin is a vet. When he needs to do a transfusion he borrows his sisters big healthy lab. The dog LOVES it. He gets to go for a ride and gets a nice treat when its over.
There is no dog blood bank, and from what I understand dogs blood is universal (no typing).
I feel bad for this particular dog since he was removed from his family and kept caged, and perhaps bled WAY too often. but the drawing of the blood is relatively painless. It’s the other stuff that makes this story difficult to read.
I’m happy that the dog wasn’t euthanized and not only that, didn’t need to be euthanized.
The vet apparently lied about it for the express purpose of keeping the dog for blood transfusions. That I’m upset about. He should be barred from veterinary practice.
...And speaking of sick dogs, I have a story.
My 13 year old standard poodle was sick - very sick with a fever. Not eating, nor drinking and just laying in the middle of my yard unresponsive.
I made a call to my vet. “Hello, my dog is very sick, acting like he wants to die. How soon can I get him in?”
“Oh just bring him in now,” said the receptionist.
That really surprised me since I usually have to wait at least several hours for him to be seen, but I was happy to get him in and very worried.
When I got to the Vet’s they ushered me right into a room. Now, usually I have to wait in the waiting room, but again I was pleasantly surprised.
A girl came into the room and asked if I was going to stay. “Sure,” I said, “it won’t take long will it?”
“No, it shouldn’t,” said the Vet’s aid. “Have you decided what you want to do?”
“Well, why don’t we just wait for the vet to get here and examine my dog, then I’ll decide.” I responded. “....and no, I don’t think he needs a blanket, he’s been very hot and panting.”
Yep, I’m a little slow on the uptake. I thought this visit was mighty strange, but it wasn’t until the vet came in with the final injection that I realized they thought I wanted to euthanize my dog! Thank goodness I stayed with him. I would have gotten a really bad shock if I had come back to get him and they had killed him!
The office was really apologetic, but the Vet was mad. I guess she thought I had gotten a quick office visit by leading them to believe I wanted to put my dog down. I was mad because they almost killed my dog instead of heal him.
All in all it turned out okay. Rex got an antibiotic and was as good as new within two days.
If 1 dog year equals 7 people years, does that mean that dogs only have to wait one-seventh as long (8 days) between donations? How do they answer the questionnaire?
I don’t know if there is a standard waiting time for dogs to donate. But that must be one doozy of a questionnaire?
Can dogs really engage in butsecks? (sorry, but really, can they?)
Maybe the blood was used for mus***s.
Always be present when your pet is put to sleep.At least he’s not in the company of strangers when he passes.
He couldn’t just find a stray animal for this purpose?
Wow. Guessing this vet wont be getting much new business! Good thing is that they have their dog back.
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