was vet wrong?

Question

took my 1 year female dog to vet to get spay. told vet may be pregnant, i thought he was going to test her first,he never did he killed her babies and did the spay.i am new to this female dog stuff,he never explained anything,i never wanted her babies killed,ithought he would give her a test first

I TOLD THE VET SHE COULD BE PREGNANT. THE VET SAID SHE WAS GOING THROUGH A FALSE PREGNANCY AND I BELIEVED HIM.HE SAID THEY DONT USUALLY GET PREGNANT IN THEIR FIRST HEAT

Answer 1

I am sorry this happened to you. I believe this is an example of a total miscommunication. If you wanted to know whether your dog was pregnant or not, you needed to make an appointment and have your dog come in for an office visit. When you brought your dog into the vet's office to be spayed and stated that there was a possibility that she might be pregnant I'm sure the Vet and the staff thought you were telling them for the safely of your animal and warning them the surgery could be more difficult. Honestly, depending on how far along your dog was, there is no test that can determine whether your dog is pregnant or not, unless you are willing to spend the money for an ultra sound. At about 3 weeks alone, sometimes the Vet can feel whether a dog is pregnant, and of course since there gestation is 63 days, towards the end you can see the pups moving. Even with x-rays we have been mistaken as to how many pups a dog is carrying. Please know the puppies did not suffer. They never came out of their sacks that they were in. I guess this is one of those life lessons.

Answer 2

First off you should have signed a consent form to allow the vet to operate. Did you read that? did you see anywhere on there that a spay would continue IF after testing dog was not pregnant? Did it say anywhere on there he would test first? Did you specifically ask him to test? NEVER go on a thought to a vet, they will do only what you ask, not what they think.

The pups are gone and really if the litter was not planned and you are not breeding purbred dogs than what he did was really the best thing. millions of animals die each year b/c they have been sent to pound and never get rehomed. Everyone loves a cute puppy, but when said puppy chews your $300 shoes, eats your front door and consistantly uses your carpet as a personal lavatory, the pup is kicked out.

BE PROUD, YOU will not be one of these people who ever has to worry about your girl having babies, needing major surgery, horrible diseases that could have all been prevented by a spay. When the next dog is enuthaized b/c nobody loved him well enough to care, you will know that you are not responsible for that pups death!!!

Answer 3

This is a problem with miscommunication between you and your veterinarian not a moral issue.

You should have asked him to first determine if she was pregnant and that, if she was, you wanted the babies. He could have told you what your options were.

He could simply have thought that you were spaying her because you did not want puppies. Did he tell you she was pregnant and what did you say to him?

Some vets do not communicate very well so you have to take a written list of questions in with you each time. Some owners do not communicate very well either.

Both sides made assumptions so chalk it up to experience and find another vet if this one makes you uncomfortable. I think owners rely on vets to do everything including make up a nutrition program for them. Vets only know so much and some are really good and some are really bad.

Next time be clear, get a complete understand of each procedure, get a written quote and ask all the questions you require in order to feel comfortable. If you don't get the service you like then go to another vet until you find one that is compatible.

Answer 4

there is not an actual pregnancy test for dogs per say. you can measure hormone levels in the blood but that requires a blood test to be sent off to the lab. it is also an expensive test. if you did not ask for this to be done or discuss with your vet about keeping the puppies then your vet did nothing wrong. you brought the dog in for a spay and you told them you thought she might be pregnant. your vet did what you asked...spayed your dog.

Answer 5

No. A spay OFTEN happens BECAUSE someone was irresponsible and let the dog get pregnant.

If you didn't ASK for him to check her first, why would he??? She's not a human, she's a dog. Not to mention the fact that at some points of dog pregnancy the vet cannot tell if the b*tch is pregnant without a costly ultrasound.

I'm sorry you weren't better informed... but it really is YOUR job to ask the right questions and make the right decisions for your dog. If you are that much of a novice, the vet did you a HUGE favor by spaying because getting you up to speed to responsibly whelp and raise pups would have been a big job... not to mention a costly one in time and $$$.

Answer 6

No, he was not wrong. He is not a mind reader.

When you said she may be pregnant, it was your responsibility to let him know you wanted the puppies and were willing to pay for the very expensive tests.
By not saying this outright, he assumed that you meant to proceed regardless.

There are millions of unwanted dogs and yes, puppies put to sleep after they are born every year because there are not enough homes for them. I wouldn't fret at all about this unborn litter.

If you could not tell she was pregnant by touch, neither could he.

Add: OK, so he was thought she was going through a false pregnancy. He couldn't feel the puppies. It was still not an intentional going against your wishes. At that point, it would have been too stressful to sew her back up. She would not have been able to carry the pups.

Answer 7

Did you tell the vet that you wanted to confirm pregnancy first? If not, he may have honestly believed that you wanted her spayed regardless. For instance, if you said I'm here to have my dog spayed, and I think she might be pregnant - that could be interpreted as saying you wanted her spayed and was just offering the possibility of pregnancy as additional information. It is not an uncommon procedure in young pregnant females, especially very early in the pregnancy. When you take your dog to the vet for ANY reason, please be very clear and precise about what you are wanting done (or not done).

Answer 8

Did you tell the vet that if she was pregnant, you didn't want the puppies aborted? If not, he did nothing wrong.

It's not unusual for someone to bring a dog in for an abortion/spay.

Answer 9

You should have been clear to the vet that if she was pregnant, wait on the spay. We have such a huge pet overpopulation problem that the vet probably thought the spay and abort was the routine thing to do.

Answer 10

You should have been clear about the puppy thing. You should have made sure or asked the vet what he was going to do.