Deadly Dental Visit, Is this Uncommon Options

[kimkalli]

I lost my little pug, Kalli, of 8 years on 7/2/2005. I took her in to have her teeth cleaned (2 Vets told me it would help her live longer). When she awoke, they told me she was vomiting, having diahrea, fever, possible infection, and was having bloody vaginal discharge (she was fixed). I don't know what went wrong. She has been put under before with only mild vomiting. Turns out my attempt to lengthen her life, killed her. I feel so guilty. If only I hadn't taken her. Who cares that she had tarter and her breath stunk. I loved this dog so much we had 2 vets, if I didn't like what one said, I would take her to the other for a second opinion. It's only been 3 days and I can't imagine another 3 days without her smiling face. She was our entertainer, best friend, companion, and my shadow. You could never have a bad day with her, she would just instantly make you smile when you would walk in the door. She slept with me, we shared a pillow. It's hard to open my eyes in the morning because I know her little face will not be there staring back at me. I am crying before my feet ever hit the floor in the morning. I could really use some support right now.

[Romeo's_daddy]

Kim,

I know how devastating a loss like yours can be. I know you will hear too many stories about our pets who have gone to the vet for routine things and somehow we never saw them alive again. I lost a cat to what was only an ear exam. I also have a pug and he's 13 and I know his time is winding down. I know about that beautiful face you see in your mind's eye when you think of Kalli. I know all those traits you described and how much you must miss them. My pug, Elvis, is the same way and I'm scared of what I'm going to feel like when he is no longer with me. I also grew up with a pug and she was just an absolute sweetheart and I remember her fondly.

It really sucks that you take your pet(child) for routine treatment and something horrible like this happens, but you didn't kill your Kalli anymore than I killed my Romeo. We tried to help them. For a long time I questioned myself about why couldn't I have just left his ear alone. If I hadn't been rubbing his ear and playing with his ear then he'd still be with me. But I know now that I didn't cause Romeo's death. I know Kalli had to be uncomfortable having rotten teeth in her mouth. You did the right thing and can't blame yourself. Something went wrong and it wasn't your fault. My dog growing up, Pugsy, had something like 17 teeth pulled at once because her breath was so bad.

The things I've learned from Romeo's death are to be as informed as I can be, and to cherish every moment with my surviving animals. Elvis needs to be knocked out because of an eyelid problem and an (sorry all) &%^ sac gland problem but I'm not going to do it. Not at his age. Not when I lost my cat when he was 8. Sadly we can lose them to teeth cleaning, vaccinations, ear exams, all sorts of things that shouldn't kill our pets, especially those things that include anesthesia. Many here, like yourself have found these things out the worst way possible.

If you ever want to talk about your pug or tell pug stories I would be pleased to hear them.

Steve