joey+redticks
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2007
Location: lima ohio
Posts: 262 |
Vet Malpractice?
I'm looking to get some second opinions, or words of advice for those who have been in a similar situation.
I recently lost my year and a half old Jagd Terrier, Bullet. Here's the story:
Saturday, May 27th we went for a walk in the woods (SW Ohio). Bullet got into a hole in a rock wall, and was fighting two raccoons. It took me two hours to get him out, and by that time he had a lot of bite wounds on his face, and was exhausted.
I took him home, cleaned up his wounds with gauze, and alcohol. I let him rest. The next day (Sunday, May 28th) he wouldn't eat or drink on his own. I figured his mouth hurt pretty bad. I took him to the only vet that was open (NW Ohio). It was a 24 hour emergency vet. The vet said that he was basically fine just sore. His mouth is swollen, a small fever, and he still has a few leaky wounds. The vet shoots him up with fluids, and prescribes Rilexine, and Metacam. $330 later, and he sends me on my way.
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...adsMaArrj8P8HAQ
Metacam Oral Suspension 1.5mg/ml for Dogs is used for control of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Metacam Oral Suspension contains 1.5 mg/ml meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Metacam Oral Suspension should be administered initially at 0.09 mg/lb (0.2 mg/kg) body weight only on the first day of treatment. For all treatments after day 1, Metacam Oral Suspension should be administered once daily at a dose of 0.045 mg/lb (0.1 mg/kg). Meloxicam
https://www.pet360.com/product/5306...e-tabs-for-dogs
What is Rilexine? This is a medication that is given orally(by mouth). It is an antibiotic that treats pyoderma (bacterial infection of the skin) and urinary tract infections. Tablets make it more convenient to treat your pets infection than with capsules that contain the same active ingredient.
I give the medication as prescribed. I buy soft (canned) dog foods, so that he will eat on his own. I spray water into his mouth using a water bottle with a hole in the cap. He seems to lay around all day, but I just assumed he was tired from the pain meds. Friday, my roommate calls me at work, and says I should come home, because he seems to have gotten worse. I come home at lunch, take him to a vet. They don't know what is wrong with him, but say that the symptoms point to rabies (lethargy, fever, not drinking) they give me three options. The most expensive, and the best option is to go to the 24/hour emergency vet down the road (Monroeville, PA). I take him. They state as well that it looks like the "dumb" form of rabies. I insist that the dog does not have rabies. They say the only other option is to do a blood test. I give them the okay to run the test. Two hours later, the vet comes running in to the waiting room. They ran the test, Bullet has a sepsis(blood) infection, and he actually just stopped breathing. They are doing CPR as we speak, but she suggests we stop, because CPR can get expensive. I have them stop. They insist I still get him tested for rabies. So I did. I got the call Tuesday that he didn't have rabies. Another $630 later, and no dog.
I have already paid the bills, so I'm not extremely worried about it. However, it sucks that I lost my best friend from something as normal as some raccoon bites.
My main question is:
Is the first vet wrong for prescribing him a specific skin infection antibiotic. He did no tests that said the dog had a skin infection. He just assumed that was all he had. The rilexine wasn't fighting the correct infection, because he did no test to find out what the infection was. Couldn't/Shouldn't he have prescribed a more general antibiotic?
I'm not looking for thousands of dollars, I would just like for them to reimburse me for these bills. I really feel like if he would have been given the right antibiotic on the 28th of May, the day after the incident, that my dog would still be alive.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Last edited by joey+redticks on 06-08-2017 at 12:45 PM
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