According to a report in the Daily Mail, Worcester vet David Denny MRCVS accidentally euthanised a Jack Russell in the presence of its owner, who believed he was giving the animal antibiotics.
Mr Denny told VetSurgeon.org that it had been the result of a dreadful misunderstanding between himself and his secretary, for which he had apologised, but that he couldn't say much more because the VDS had advised him not to talk to the media.
The dog, called Gunner, was 14 years old; old enough that alarm bells obviously didn't go off when it was presented to Mr Denny for euthanasia (or so he thought).
The story does serve as a reminder of the importance of communicating with absolute clarity, both written and oral, when performing euthanasia. In this case, the Daily Mail reports that Mr Denny asked the client: "if Gunner had had enough". Under any other circumstances, that would seem a sensitive comment to make. In this case, though, the owner thought he meant the dog had had enough of its cough.
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It is imperative to always determine the reasons behind a euthanasia request. Sometimes owners are unaware of available treatment options - I have experienced this many time,much to the relief of the owners. On rare occasions a euthanasia appointment for a companion animal is arranged in revenge against a spouse. Or it may be planned as a prerequisite to a suicide. I know of a case involving a dementia sufferer who had his dog euthanased - and then wondered why he had requested this. There are also many older people, moving to supported living who are ordered by housing providers to get rid of their pets - we should be challenging the housing providers & not euthanasing the animals. I have acted as advocate in these situations for my clients & in 28 years always got a successful outcome. 140,000 older people are forced to relinquish their pets annually in the UK. see www.scas.org.uk pets for life campaign