A pet owner has slammed its Sidcup vet clinic after collecting their dog from a routine spaying to find its back covered in serious burns.
WARNING - EXPLICIT IMAGES WITHIN THIS STORY
The owner of Pixie, who has requested not to be named, had been with Oval Pet Centre Veterinary Practice all of his six-year-old dog’s life.
Pixie had only ever been to the vets for routine check ups until she went for a procedure on June 28, 2024.
The couple who own Pixie claim they were not told that anything had gone wrong when they collected her, but
They now worry that she may never be “the same happy little doggy she used to be”.
One of the pair said: “She was all wrapped up in bandages.
“They didn’t tell us anything – it was all fine, no issues.
“I think now they might have mentioned she had a little problem with her temperature but then they said she’s fine now and okay.”
Oval Vet Practice has since told the News Shopper that there are risks to any procedures involving anaesthesia, such as “the potential for an unexpected and dramatic drop in body temperature”.
If this happens, then “rapid intervention” is needed to prevent the “potentially life-threatening effects of hypothermia”, adding that their teams to everything they can to manage these situations and treat animals quickly.
Pixie’s owner claims that he was told that she may be dizzy or in some pain in the following days due to having been under general anaesthetic and undergoing the procedure.
As Pixie was wrapped in bandages, her wounds were not visible when her owners took her home.
He added: “She was in agony.
“She was crying, we cared for her for three days, non-stop, 24/7.
“We had even been taking turns throughout the night to comfort her.
“We could not understand it.”
On the third day of Pixie feeling poorly, her owners looked more closely at the skin on her back and saw that it was “bubbling and blistering”.
Because of the long fur on her back, they did not notice it at first but then grew highly concerned and took her back to Oval Pet Centre Veterinary Practice.
Her owner claims it is only then that the clinic admitted that there had been an issue.
They were told that she had a problem recovering from the anaesthetic and therefore her body temperature dropped.
The vets allegedly claimed that they then tried to use some heating blankets and also tried filling a rubber glove with warm water and holding it to her body.
While on her medical records, it allegedly states that “warm water” was used on Pixie, her owner claims that a vet admitted to him verbally that it was in fact boiling water in the glove.
He said: “The glove burst, and it flooded her back.
“Actually the fact she had a gauze on it or something soaked in all the hot water and caused all that damage and it's all just started blistering.
“I started getting really angry.”
In an attempt to remedy the problem, the vet clinic shaved her back and her owner visited various pharmacies to find products to treat burns.
Pixie was continually taken back to the vet so that they could change her bandages, but her owner claims there reached a point that they were “massively struggling” and “admitted Pixie had infections they couldn’t deal with”.
Instead, they made arrangements for Pixie to be treated at Hamilton’s – a specialist referral vet clinic in High Wycombe.
The couple had to leave Pixie with Hamilton’s for an indefinite period of time and had to face the possibility that she might not survive this.
Her owner said: “We didn’t have a choice at that point.
“I know for some people it might sound odd, but Pixie’s like our daughter.
“Me and my wife had been struggling to have our ‘human child’ for quite a few years and people had suggested to get a pet.
“We got Pixie and six months later we got pregnant and we have a beautiful four-year-old daughter.”
After going through this ordeal, they asked Oval Pet Centre Veterinary Practice for compensation.
They wanted the vet clinic to cover the money they had spent on petrol, skin products and the time they had lost which they believe comes to a number just short of £3,000.
Oval Pet Centre Veterinary Practice paid for Pixie’s treatment at Hamilton Specialist Referral, which her owners say was “amazing” treatment, but they would not pay the sum Pixie’s owners were requesting.
He felt that as this is an issue that the vet clinic created, they should have offered more compensation.
Oval Vet Practice claims that it has launched an investigation and has worked to support Pixie and her owners with follow-up care.
However, at the core of the issue he claims that Pixie has been left with both physical and, more importantly, emotional scars.
She now has a long scar on her back and patches of skin where vets could not pull her skin back together, meaning fur will likely never grow in those areas.
She is also now “terrified to leave the house”.
He said: “She used to love a walk but as soon as you take her outside she just doesn’t want to go.
“You almost have to pull her and most of the time we go back home because she doesn’t want to leave the house.
“We take her with us most of the time but if you put her in a car she’s shaking like crazy, She has to be held in arms all the time, she’s not the same dog.
“She’s not as happy as she used to be.”
A statement in full from Oval Vet Practice said: “Our dedicated team aim to provide a professional and caring service at all times, and the most important thing to us is the welfare of pets in our care.
“We take any suggestion of sub-optimal delivery of care to animals or their owners extremely seriously.
“Due to client confidentiality, we cannot comment publicly on individual cases.
“However, we have a comprehensive understanding of how upsetting it may be for a client when their pet requires urgent treatment.
“We treat any such matters extremely seriously and endeavour to support our clients as much as possible, throughout any follow up care required.
“As with all surgical procedures involving general anaesthesia, there are acknowledged risks such as the potential for an unexpected and dramatic drop in body temperature.
“Should a pet experience such a complication rapid intervention is required to prevent the potentially life-threatening effects of hypothermia.
“Our clinical teams will do everything possible to manage such situations and treat the pet quickly.
“With reference to this case we launched an immediate investigation into what had happened at the time and have been endeavouring to support our client throughout all the follow-up care.
“As part of this investigation, we considered our procedures and as a result have implemented strict measures in order to reduce the risk of any similar complications happening in the future.”
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