I'm shattered. Two days ago my 10 y o GSD was bounding round like a puppy and flirting with visiting male dogs. I discovered a lump along her mammary line so she was in the vets the next day and booked in for removal the day after. The vet I saw (my preferred one) then said it would probably be a good idea to take chest X-rays and spay her at the same time. Her temp was normal and no other glands were up. I dropped her off early yesterday and also ticked the box for a pre op blood test to be done. When I rang in the afternoon I was told she was still in surgery so rang back at 6 and the vet who saw her the previous day said she was ok but they would keep her in overnight for pain relief which didn't surprise me. At 11pm the night vet rang and said he'd got her out a couple of hours previously and she collapsed. He did a scan and suspected an internal bleed and her colour wasn't good so they were keeping her on fluids but it didn't look good and he wasn't keen to go back in. I'd only just about took this in when he rang again to say he was about to give more pain relief when she took a last gasp and died.

I then had to wake my OH and tell him about his most favourite dog, not an easy task as his Mum had also just died.

At no time during the original consult was it suggested she wasn't a candidate for both surgeries and as I'd just had another oldie spayed I was confident to leave her in their hands.  I KNOW that all surgeries and GA's are a risk and expected a slow recovery but not this. 

I'm also now annoyed and upset that the practice that has had my (big) business  and loyalty for the last 20 years has not so far contacted me this morning. Maybe I won't get answers but I'm struggling to justify my decision to let her go for surgery in the first place. If we'd left the lump until it had spread at least we could've made the decision when her quality of life was no more instead of me having a vision of her last hours being absolutely terrible. I don't even know what questions to ask atm.

So so sorry for you and how you are feeling.

As an ex-veterinary nurse, although some are successful, I've seen this sooo many times and always wonder why, especially with a 10 year old, they recommend this plan of action.

Don't blame yourself.  You were only guided by those with knowledge who you trusted.

For me, I always take the painfree and comfortable route.  My daughter found a mammary lump on one of her unspeyed bitched at 8 years old and asked my advice.  Alanis had a happy life to almost 14 when a large growth on her liver meant it was time to say Goodbye.

Sending you a big cyber hug and one for hubby too. :)

You must be in turmoil,

It is absolutely not your fault, everything you have done has been done with love and the caring for your dog, please try to focus on that and don't blame yourself, you had no idea this would happen, no-one would....

I know it won't take away the guilt and the what if's, we would all be devastated and wish we could turn the clock back, you need to ask your vet exactly what has gone wrong.

My main question would be if he suspected an internal bleed, he needed to go back in, even if your girl was weak as it wasn't going to go away was it? An internal bleed will kill, what good was fluids and pain relief that would be my first question. I take it before the op her heart was checked and as you say all bloods were done, you need a detailed account of the treatment she had and if the surgery did everything they could to save her, will the vet do an autopsy to find out what went wrong.

We sign on that dotted line and accept that things go wrong in surgery, but........ we don't expect it to, of course we don't. What you need to decide is whether anything could have been prevented and were the right decisions made. Sometimes rightly or wrongly it helps to be angry at someone else for what has happened, but sometimes that can just cause more pain especially if it gets you nowhere, and the veterinary did all he was required to do, of course you can have her body taken to another vet for an autopsy if you don't like the answers......it won't bring her back though and it is something you need to think through.

Try not to dwell on that last day she had, (but of course any of us would) but try not to for too long as it will only bring you pain, don't do that to yourself, remember her as the dog you loved at home and know you took her for surgery because you loved her, no-one should feel guilty about making decisions because you loved and cared about your girl.

So very sorry, it's awful and my heart goes out to you......... may your girl R.I.P xxx

I welled up reading your post.  How devastated you must be feeling.  The shock of losing a dog when it wasn't expected is awful. 

I am so very sorry for your loss.

You must be devastated, I know I would be, but from the outside looking in, you have nothing to feel guilty about, most people would have taken the same route, I certainly would have.
I hope you find some answers for your own peace of mind (((( hugs ))))

This has brought tears to my eyes. How absolutely dreadful for you. You need some proper answers from the vet (what happened? would surely simply be enough) to get some kind of closure, for your own sake if nothing else.

As I've said already I'm so very sorry...
I'm here xxx

So very sorry,

Sheila xx

I had a similar experience many years ago, so I understand your devastation. :-( Sadly sometimes things don't go the way they should even when all procedures are followed correctly. Sometimes we just have bad luck. I know that's no consolation though. :-(  I'm so sorry.

So sorry for your loss, may she RIP

Hope you get some answers

Sorry to hear of your loss. You followed the course of action that you thought was best for your dog. We are all faced with difficult decisions in this life and all we can do is weigh up the options and choose the route we think is best.

I am so so sorry to hear about your loss. The awful thing is that you said yes to the operation BECAUSE you felt you would be giving her a longer and a quality of life. Sadly we have to trust our Vet and that is what you did, what else could you do. I have no other words as I too find it hard to believe that you have lost your girl like this. RIP little girl.

I lost my very first border collie under anaesthetic to remove a haematoma from his ear. He was only six years old, so I know the anguish of losing a dog completely unexpectedly at the vets. You had no reason to do anything differently from what you did but the shock and guilt is unimaginable. So very sorry for you, you did the very best for your dog and she knows that. I don't know if you will get any answers from your vet as I imagine, if they're anything like doctors, they will close ranks when/if things go wrong.

I'm so sorry to read this and I absolutely agree with Carrington's excellent post. While there is always a GA risk it seems she came through that fine, and I agree that if there was an internal bleed suspected ( and it does sound as if there was and that is what killed her) they really had no choice but to go back in, and I would be wanting to know why they didn't, and also to go through the blood results etc. in detail with the vet.
Don't blame yourself-- many dogs would have come through fine and had a longer, happier life because of it so you did make the right decision. Sadly it didn't work out on this occassion, and you need to get to the bottom of why it didn't for your own peace of mind.

I'm so sorry, we've been through a difficult time recently with our eldest. You did what you thought was best, most of us would have done the same, I would have. Reading your story, I was thinking "there but for the grace of God".

Once again, so sorry for your loss.

T xxx

Very sorry to hear this. Nothing will make you feel better right now, but try to take comfort in the fact that you did what you thought to be in the best interests of your dog. That is all we can do.

xxxx

So very sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry. I can't add anything to what's already been said, except my condolences. Run free girl x

I am so sorry. We trust our loved ones both 2 and 4 legged to people we are supposed to trust and we take their advice. It is not your fault

My (then) 10 yr old went through the same op at the same age and recovered.  I don't think it's an age think so much as sheer bad luck.  There is always risk with GA no matter what the age.
I'm very sorry you lost your girl this way.  xx

I am so very, very sorry. What a shattering thing to happen.  I think that every one of us would have made the same decision and be feeling exactly how you are feeling now, and there isn't a one of us that can make you feel any better.  Please try not to imagine her last hours as being absolutely terrible, she will have been sleepy and probably mostly unaware of where she was for the most part. I know I would torture myself too, but you did exactly the right thing for all the right reasons.

The fact that the surgery hasn't been in touch with you is very poor show indeed, and I would be deeply upset by that as well.  I hope that you can find peace eventually, but always remember that what you did was only to try and do right for her. The fact that it went wrong was beyond your control. My heart is just breaking for you.

I am so sorry to read this - nothing can make things better - but just remember the good times x

Definitely sounds like they weren't watching her closely enough or monitoring her.  When you think of how closely human patients are monitored after surgery, it doesn't surprise me that this happens more often with pets.  So don't blame yourselves.

I wouldn't have wanted to spay a 10yo dog though.  It is major surgery.  I would want to spay a dog no older than 6/7yo.  And even then I would go for a laparoscopic spay as they are far less traumatic, less invasive and recovery far quicker. 

Why didn't they just do a fine needle aspirate on the lump to see what it was, before deciding whether to remove it?  We have a lumpy, bumpy 8.5yo and we won't now investigate any further lumps.  We have done fine needle aspiration on them to check what they are in the past, and we did have an op on a MCT a couple of years ago (luckily caught it early), but I now consider the prospect of any surgery to be too traumatic for her, given her age.

Your poor dog, to die alone and in pain and without you around.  I'm so sorry.

Did you get any more info from the vets?

So very sorry for your loss.

So very sorry for your loss.  :-(

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, so please do not beat yourself up. 

I hope you can soon look back with a smile and remember the 10 wonderful years you shared with her. 

I am really sorry to hear that this has happened to you and your dog. Life is so full of 'what ifs' isn t it? You made what you thought was the best decision for your dog at the time and you'd got no way of knowing what the outcome would be. It's easy for others ( like me) to say it, but what would you say to a close friend who was in your situation? You'd say that she'd done the best for her dog and that she shouldn t feel guilty. Please be kind to yourself and don t beat yourself up - you're a lovely owner and your dog had a great life with you - try to think about the positives. I know it's hard  - I lost a lovely girl nearly a year ago and still think about her every day and wionder if I let her down - cyber hugs XX