What can I do if my puppy died less than an hour after a vet visit and the vet said that everything was great?
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What can I do if my puppy died less than an hour after a vet visit and the vet said that everything was great?
My Shih Tzu had a liter on Saturday of 7. I called yesterday to book an appointment with my vet and was unable to get in so I called a local vet and got an appointment for 3:30. He weighed each puppy, said they were all great and will be great dogs. I told him that one of them had been acting lethargic that day and he said it was fine he was probably just tired. He weighed and checked my dogs belly meaning looked at her nipples and that said she looked fine. I told him that she had not been eating or drinking and he said just give her extra calcium. Well, within an hour of leaving the vet, the puppy I had concerns about died. So I called a local emergency animal hospital and they had us bring all of them in. Just by looking at my dog they could tell she wasn’t well, she was pale. I spent an extra $700 on top of the $200 I spent at the vet to have an X-ray and blood work done. They said she is anemic and her red and white blood cells are low. They weighed the puppies and every single one was under weight. Every one of the pups also had high fevers. The animal hospital told us we need to hand feed them every hour. She said although we may do everything we can they may not survive. I want to know what my options are with the local vet that seemed to have no clue what he was doing considering he said all of the puppies were fine and in fact they are all far from fine.
Asked on November 1, 2016 under Business Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
If, as is likely the case based on what you write, the vet was negligent, or unreasonably careless, you could sue him to recover any extra vet/medical costs you incurred due to his malpractice, and also for the economic value of the dog.
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