I took a 3 year old black lab in for a yearly checkup and shots, and thought I'd have his nails trimmed while I was there. After the shots, a "tech" came in to trim his nails. Being a large dog, he sat on the floor with his right rear leg tucked under him while this was going on. I asked the tech is we could help stand him or roll him over, she said no, even though he clearly wasn't enjoying it, he struggled throughout. After trimming the legs she could reach easily, she then proceeded to grab his right leg out from under him and yanked it up in the opposite direction to trim. The next day, he came up lame.
Another trip to the same vet and I was told he had a torn ACL, and without $2-3000 surgery, there was little hope for him. During the second trip, he cried and carried on in the waiting room while we waited, something he'd never done before, maybe he was trying to tell us something.
Anyway, I went back a few days later to ask the vet about the possibility that the injury had occurred that day.
Immediately and without hesitation, I was barked at, and told that I could "shop that around all you want" and that I would not be successful. Huh? I hadn't even finished explaining my concerns when that came out. He then went on to explain that there was "no way" it could have happened during an office visit. That alone sounded suspicious, I mean, how can anyone be that sure, without even hearing me out?
All I was looking for was a little sympathy and compassion, and to make sure the staff was made aware of it, just in case it did happen there, a very real possibility. I wasn't there to make accusations or threaten legal action, but that was clearly on their minds. It was obvious at that point that they'd been down that road before...
At this point, it's a real possibility that I may have to put a three year old lab down because of this injury.
Beware.
