"Ruby" (not her real name) was a 5 year old cute little lab mix who came in last month for a 2 month history of vaginal discharge and increasing lethargy. My associate vet saw her and after a few tests she diagnosed Ruby with a pyometra, which is a fairly common disease in unspayed female dogs. What happens is that the reproductive hormones get sort of out of whack and bacteria get involved and the uterus fills with pus. The infection can make the dog quite sick, as every organ in the body can become affected in some way or another. The treatment of choice is stabilization (if the animal is critically ill) and then an emergency spay. However, this is no ordinary spay - removing a fragile, pus-filled uterus can be challenging.
In Ruby's case, she was very anemic. We suspect that her immune system was fighitng off the infection for so long that it started to attack her red blood cells as well. Additionally, she may also have lost some blood through the chronic discharge from her uterus. At any rate, I strongly recommended referring her to a speciality clinic for a blood transfusion, as I didn't think she would survive surgery without it. The owners thought long and hard, but in the end they decided that they couldn't afford the $2000+ bill and they told me to euthanize her.
Damn. Another one of those moments where I have to make a decision. Another moment when someone else's problem becomes mine. Don't get me wrong, I have euthanized many animals for financial reasons, but some just make you think about giving them a second chance. Ruby was one of them. She was young and sweet and had a potentially curable problem.
So... I called the owner back and asked if she would be willing to sign Ruby over to us and we would attempt to fix her and find her a new home. The owner was pleasantly surprised and jumped at the chance to give her dog another chance. Because I was essentially footing the bill at this point, I did the surgery without a pre-op transfusion. It was a little nerve-wracking, since every drop of blood lost was bringing her that much closer to death. But the surgery was a success. So successful, in fact, that by the next day Ruby's red blood cell count had gone up 10 points (removing the infection likely turned her off over-active immune system and allowed her red blood cells to regenerate).
I was very pleased at the result. Happy me, happy dog. A few days later I mentioned her to my minister, Kent, whom I knew to be kind of looking for a dog. His wife wasn't 100% sold on the idea but one thing led to another, and within hours they met me at the vet clinic to meet Ruby. Ruby was a little shy, but everything seemed to be going well. After thinking about it over the weekend, they decided to take her home on Monday for a trial week. I met Kent at the clinic and my staff got everything arranged - dog food, bed, toys, kennel. They put it all in his car, put Ruby in the passenger seat, and Kent buckled his two small children in the back seat and they were ready to go. I just knew it was going to work. I said good-bye and went back into my office. Not 30 seconds later, one of my staff ran in, saying that Ruby had bit Kent and there was blood everywhere. WHAT??
I ran outside to find a bleeding Kent and two crying kids. Ruby had already been removed from the scene. It sounds like Ruby attacked Kent out of fear after he he tried to move her foot. She bit him 4-5 times in the hands, broke his watch, and set him to urgent care for 14 (I believe) stitches.
I was mortified. I had no idea that Ruby would bite, let alone attack (although I am convinced that it was out of fear rather than aggression). I felt terrible. However Kent and even his not 100% dog-loving wife were great. My liability insurance covered his medical bils, but hopefully he (and his poor kids!) won't be too scarred from this.
So what happened to Ruby? Well, I had another decision to make. I couldn't adopt her out, because I now know that she could bite. I certainly didn't want that liability. I could euthanize her. Or....
I called her previous owners, told them the entire story, and said that if they wanted Ruby back, they could have her. I made it clear that I have never done this before and likely would never do it again (fix an animal for free and give it back to the original owners, that is). But this was a special case and I really didn't want to put her to sleep after all that I had done. They were shocked (especially about the biting part) but called back the next day and said, yes, they would love to take her back and thank you thank you thank you.
In cases like these, it's easy to be an Monday morning quarteback and try to determine where things went wrong. But you know, sometimes things just happen, and it's not anyone's fault. At least Ruby is back at home, my minister has no hard feelings (ironically, the very next Sunday was the annual Blessing of the Animals and he had to bless dozens of dogs!), and I don't think my liability insurance rates will go up. Ruby's care and surgery, of course, did cost me some time and money, but that's just part of being in this profession. I sometimes have the opportunity to make a real difference. For better, and for worse.
