DEMAND HARSHER PUNISHMENT FOR VETERINARY MALPRACTICE NOW!

On 6/11/2018, my beloved Italian Mastiff (Lady) experienced GDV (Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus) - more commonly known as gastric torsion or bloat in dogs.

GDV is a condition where the stomach twists and then fills with gas. It can flip the stomach entirely, cutting off blood flow to major organs and it is a life-threatening condition in dogs which requires veterinary care.

Regardless of how the process actually happens, bloat is clearly bad for a dog. Eventually the dog's stomach becomes distended with gas and puts pressure on the diaphragm, which can cause breathing problems. Additionally, the pressure cuts off the return blood flow to the heart. The extreme pressure within the stomach can cause tissue to die leading to stomach rupture, and sometimes the spleen twists with the stomach, which results in damage to splenic tissues as well.

Luckily, I was able to notice the onset of symptoms immediately. I had just moved to CA (2 months prior) and dialed every vet in the closest vicinity to my house. None of the clinics could see Lady until a few hours out - which was not acceptable (as this is a 911 situation). I was able to find a walk-in clinic in El Cajon, CA. The staff weren't the most pleasant or knowledgeable individuals to deal with. They failed to take a proper triage and asked me to sit and wait for 3 more patients to be seen. I had to demand/beg one of them to take Lady back to at least have a "set of eyes" on her. I knew this was time-sensitive and needed her looked at ASAP.

One of the vets came out immediately and asked if she could take x-rays to confirm but it was a very serious situation and she mentioned that "Lady is a very sick dog and may not make it".

Fast forward - there were many issues prior to having Lady undergo the surgery - but it was performed and she did survive. However, I never received any follow-up calls after the first initial 24 hours and (even worse) was horrified to see what conditions this clinic had provided for Lady under "medical boarding". The staff always tried to deter me when I wanted to visit and check-up on Lady. "It stresses the dog out and they think they are going home with you" is what they would tell me (and I now know that they were hiding something). I believed this for a second as I was under major stress and was quite devastated about all that had occurred - I just wanted what was best for Lady and I didn't want to jeopardize her recovery or stress her out.

I had a bad feeling in my gut on 6/14/2018 and instinctively knew that something must have been wrong. I asked the staff if I could visit that afternoon around 4PM and they threatened that I had 20 minutes to get to the clinic or else I couldn't see Lady until the next morning. It was as if they were holding my dog (my property) hostage. I made it in time - I don't think they expected that I would. I wondered why they gave me the ultimatum as they were open for another 2 hours (until 6PM) that day.

One of the vet techs took me back to the post-op kennels and to my confusion, my dog wasn't kenneled there. However, the vet (practice owner) had conveniently kenneled all of her dogs in the air-conditioned space while on vacation - the vet tech proudly told me about each and every one of them. I asked the vet tech where my dog was. She could not answer me. I questioned if she had even been monitoring my dog or caring for her under the intense condition she was in. We then walked to another section of the clinic and the kennels were much too small to house my 80lb. pup. These kennels were made for smaller dogs and cats. I was freaking out at this point - I had no idea, nor did the vet tech, of the location of Lady.

Lady was a critical care patient (a very "sick dog" as the vet had stated) and was nowhere in sight. I spotted a sign on the door that read "Lady in x-room" and asked the vet tech to take me there. Upon opening the door, I almost fell to my knees. It was 95 degrees outside and this "storage room" had no air-conditioning, no air flow, no windows. It was so hot and stuffy that Lady had drool dripping from both sides of her mouth. The cone around her neck was filthy. There was an unidentified liquid all over the floor. The concrete kennel was filthy and had some dried blood on it (later to receive her medical records that said "blood everywhere" on two separate notes entered on two different days - HORRIFIC!). There were cleaning solutions on the counter, an assortment of random medical equipment, and open boxes of equine products and medications. I asked the vet tech why Lady was drooling and she mentioned that she was most likely uncomfortable from the heat (and she had been there for 4 days). I was furious and sick to my stomach! I asked her to take Lady out so that I could check her underbelly. I was enraged to see an open gash, inflamed incision, as well as onset of infection. My poor dog, I couldn't believe these were the medical boarding accommodations they had provided for Lady. Sickening.

The vet tech immediately told me that she could put a staple in (to hold the gaping wound) until a vet could see Lady in the morning. This was an EMERGENCY! Lady had just undergone a very intense, life-threatening condition and this was how the clinic decided to treat her? The "educated" vet tech thought it would be best to put a staple in an already infected wound to fester further? Is this the best possible care that these medical professionals could provide? Where did they get their education? Are they even compassionate? Did a single person ever check on Lady?

I immediately told the vet tech that I would be removing Lady and had to rush her off to another ER clinic to perform another surgery. The vet tech could not even find Lady's leash. It was as if they expected Lady would die - and she would have - had I not been there to rescue her. This second surgery was necessary to her survival and it cost me an additional $3,000.00. It was so unnecessary that my poor Lady had to go through this type of pain. She endured 2 major surgeries and I can't even imagine how awful the conditions were while she tried to stay strong and recover from surgery.

Upon all of this ... I realized that the first clinic had really missed the ball with the following (and much more that is too much to list):

-lack of attention to detail, did not perform an emergency triage to properly recognize and
diagnose the severity of Lady's condition or contact a veterinarian to confirm
-did not provide Medical Records and confirmed that their system does not include
timestamps or dates - leaving room to manipulate data and important notes
-did not provide pain medication; it was not itemized on the receipt nor could the vet or vet
tech confirm what kind/how much was administered (if ever)
-made the choice to house Lady in inhumane conditions and board the owner's dogs in
post-op surgery kennels
- uneducated and unprofessional staff; Lady only went potty 1x/day (between 5PM-6PM)
as I was able to take plenty of photos of her "boarding" area
-no follow-up calls on Lady's condition
-vet tech admitted that anesthesia was given to Lady after the initial surgery without my
consent (which is illegal)
-their ill intent to harm Lady caused her to develop and infection and risk her life (undergo
another surgery) to repair the sloppy, chop-shop "job"

There are about 70+ things that I have noted and I am now fighting Lady's battle. Lady pulled through and I am SO lucky that I listened to my gut. It's not okay for veterinary professionals to make these types of decisions and not face repercussion. This was a very serious, major surgery and a very serious, life-threatening condition. Unfortunately, Lady is not the only unlucky patient to experience this type of veterinary malpractice.

Lady and I were very lucky (mostly because I was relentless in visiting her on 6/14/2018 and was able to remove her from danger and harm) but there are many, many innocent patients and dog-parents out there who experience the same or worse. There are many pets that don't make it because of the ill will of a veterinarian or their staff members. This is NOT OKAY. Every ounce of me will fight for all of you who have or may possibly face a similar situation in the future. It's time to make a change. I want to stand for you and your animals and make sure that we work as hard as we possibly can to eliminate unfortunate situations like Lady's. I understand that mistakes are made ... and that's a different story. I'm focused on making positive changes and harsher punishments for intentional veterinary malpractice cases like this. This was NO MISTAKE - these decisions were made intentionally and on purpose.

It has been difficult to fight these types of cases in the past (as my research shows); however, animals are truly family - and it is increasingly more common to see changes for the betterment of their world and care. We can make a change. We can make others more accountable and we NEED to change the attitude toward animal care. We need harsher punishments in place to make individuals second-guess their intentions to harm animals or place them in harm for their financial gain.

Lady would have had to undergo another surgery regardless and I'm almost certain that this clinic wanted to reap the benefits. If not, they would have ultimately reaped some with the cost of euthanasia had Lady not survived. This makes me sick to my stomach. Truly, who could outweigh a few dollars over the loss of someone's beloved pet. Animals are family, they are living beings, and they most definitely deserve to be treated that way.

Please help Lady and I fight for #LadysLaw. Lady's Law will include harsher punishments for veterinary malpractice as well as increase financial restitution for damages and harm experienced by the owner and their pet(s). We are currently fighting this battle and we can not do it alone.

Please help us so that we can prevent stories like Lady's. It's absolutely the most devastating and horrific thing that I have personally ever witnessed and I would not wish this on my worst enemy. Animals do not have a voice and we trust these "schooled" and "educated" professionals to provide the best of care for the most optimal outcome - this is something we as owners (pet-parents) have to leave in the hands of faith and trust that we have done our absolute best.

Thank you to all who have read this. Please add your signature and share this petition so that we can win this fight! It's a long and lonely road ahead but Lady and I are committed and 150% dedicated to fight this for each and every one of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart... we can and we will do this!

XoXo
Lady (and Suzi)