[News] Judge Dismisses Yorkie Death Lawsuit

[fasteddie]

I dunno about you, but I think if your Yorkie is at a vet, they should be responsible for what they do your Yorkie!!! Especially if it's for routine vaccinations and teeth cleaning!
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FAIRFIELD -- How much is a dead dog worth? A jury was denied the chance to answer that question Friday when Judge Harry S. Kinnicutt preempted a jury trial by ruling Larnita Pette had not made a case against a Benicia veterinarian.

Pette took her Yorkshire Terrier, Monty, to veterinarian William Burton for routine vaccinations at the Benicia Animal Hospital in October 2001. While at the clinic Pette agreed it would be a good idea to have her ten year old terrier also get his teeth cleaned. She left Monty there planning to pick him up later in the day.

That afternoon Pette got a phone call from the clinic saying Monty had collapsed. She rushed to the clinic where she was told Monty would be all right. She then spent the next two hours holding Monty before Burton decided to take Monty to an emergency vet clinic in Contra Costa County. Monty died on the way to the clinic.

Pette sued in June 2002 claiming negligence and malpractice. Two years later, after a failed mediation and a dozen pretrial hearings, Pette and Burton sat down earlier this week at opposing tables to present their respective cases to a jury.

Pette's attorney, David Blatte, began his case telling jurors Monty was his client's best friend. He then brought in a woman who had worked at the clinic and his own expert witness on veterinary medicine.

Before Burton could present his defense case in the lawsuit, Kinnicutt granted a request to end the trial because there was no link between Monty's death and the any possible negligence.

http://www.dailyrepublic.com/article...news/news7.txt

[bettyeanne]

Originally Posted by fasteddie

I dunno about you, but I think if your Yorkie is at a vet, they should be responsible for what they do your Yorkie!!! Especially if it's for routine vaccinations and teeth cleaning!

Absolutely!! I know everyone gets tired of hearing me say it ... but ... I cannot stress it enough ... if you have a baby like ours and really care about it, you have to be very selective in your vet!! A good, reputable vet will not mind your questions regarding experience with various breeds and you should find out before the vet ever touches your pet!! The treatment/medication for our little quys is much different than other pets ... most medication as well as anesthesia has to be a much smaller dose, etc. I am not so stupid as to think that it is impossible for things as tragic as this to occasionally happen ... but it could have been caused by a simple matter of too much anesthesia!! We should do our "homework"!!! If our courts won't hold them responsible then we should do what we can to protect our little ones.

[jazzybaby]

I agree. I have walked out on three vets to date because I felt they didn't understand how different yorkies were from other breeds. When asking about neutering, one vet said that no special precautions needed to be taken with my 2 lb male because putting him under was no different than putting any other breed of dog under. Needless to say, I never went back. I think its awful that the judge didn't allow them to continue the suit. I think she should have been awarded something. When it comes to blame, it definitely wasn't the owner's fault but yet they were made to suffer by loosing their pet and the vet gets to walk away scott free.

[bettyeanne]

I make it a practice to NEVER let Toto out of my sight!! Even at our trusted "Dr. Lucy's"! The only time I did was while she was in surgery for her spaying and teeth removal. And I have gotten really good, when a stranger or even some people that I know, ask to hold her I can comfortably say "I would prefer that you didn't ... we don't let many people hold her". I also don't allow children to hold her ... they can sit on the floor and let her climb all over them and play as long as she wants and they aren't playing rough with her. When she has had enough she will retreat to her X-pen ... her "safe place" or to one of her crates.
I feel that if a vet doesn't want to answer as many questions as you want to ask or doesn't give satisfactory answers, they aren't suitable for your baby! That's what they are being paid for ... lots of them charge large fees and you have every right to make sure that they are properly informed on your particular baby whether it's a tiny Yorkie or a St. Bernard!! We are fortunate that our vet understands that Toto is our "baby" and she is very patient with us [I usually go in with a list of questions and she answers every single one!]. She also has Yorkie show dogs of her own and Yorkies are her specialty! We feel that she is rare! Caring pet owners deserve good caring vets!!

[Higgin's Mom]

I think it pays to listen to your inner voice.....

Dr. Magill, our Florida vet, doesn't have a hugely complicated practice and office, but the way he lovingly handled Higgins and smiled and just seemed to LOVE that little puppy.....it was so heartwarming. And he wanted followup visits to be sure that Higgins was gaining weight and thriving. He just enjoyed him so much, that in the end, Higgins enjoyed going to the vet! Doc Magill's wife ADORED Higgins! She and her daughter ran the practice at the front desk. She said that she had always wanted a Yorkie, but her husband had just gotten her a mini-dachshund. So she always held Higgins and gave him little treats.....We look forward to seeing that family when we go back.

I am impressed with our new vets here in Maine, too. They take the time to explain things well. For instance, Dr. Forgeron explained that the big danger to small breeds under anesthesia is that they lose body temperature VERY quickly and slide into hypothermia. They use hot water bottles and warm blankets to keep their temps up during surgery and try to have all surgery done within 20 minutes. I didn't know that. When we chose the new vet, we got the only one in the area that is an accredited animal hosptial, and we interviewed them carefully about their experience with Yorkies.

[bettyeanne]

I think it pays to listen to your inner voice.....
YEP! Dr. Lucy's practice is uncomplicated too ... just a small country vet! All her assistants are more like "family" than employees and every single one has that genuine love for animals. I think you have to be as selective with vets as you would be with a pediatrician!!

[Monte7340]

I just happened to read fasteddie's, bettyeanne's, jazzybaby's, and Higgin's Mom's responses to fasteddie's posting in July 2004. The article began..."How much is a dead dog worth? A jury was denied the chance to answer that question Friday when Judge Harry S. Kunnicutt preempted a jury trial by ruling Larnita Pette had not made a case against a Benicia veterinarian." (Dr. William (Paul) Burton).

I am Monte's mom and was interested in your responses. Because you showed your concern, I would like to fill you in on the background of this case and why I am appealing the judge's decision. First, the vet talked me into having Monte's teeth cleaned. Monte had his teeth cleaned by two different vets in two different states using the same anesthesia protocols with no adverse reactions. Monte was 10 years old, but on my initial visit to Dr. Burton 18 months prior to his death, I provided Dr. Burton with copies all of Monte's medical records from his vets from the time I got him from his breeder at 7 weeks old. On October 3, 2001, Dr. Burton assured me that Monte was healthy and that there would not be any adverse reaction to him receiving his vaccinations and anesthesia within hours of each other. I told Dr. Burton I was concerned because Monte did have a reaction to receiving his vaccinations and his first 3 year rabies shot at the same time. I was advised by his vet at the time to separate the rabies and vaccinations.
Dr. Burton assured me that Monte was "healthy as a horse" and there wouldn't be any problems. On the basis of these assurances, I agreed to have Monte's teeth cleaned. I was called by Dr. Burton and told the cleaning went well and I could pick Monte up that afternoon. Dr. Burton called later that afternoon to say Monte collapsed and was on oxygen and an IV. I arrived at Benicia Veterinary 20 minutes later to find Monte laying in a open wire crate with dialated pupils, open month labored breathing and no oxygen or IV in sight. He did not respond to me or my voice. I was told that it was the medication. I walked around the hospital holding Monte, found Dr. Burton and expressed my concern about his labored breathing. I was told that the worst was over and that I could take him home, he just needed to be monitored. I refused to take him home in that condition. I also refused to leave him at Benicia Veterinary hospital without supervision by Dr. Burton. I agreed to have him taken to an emergency veterinary hospital with all night supervision by a veterinarian only if Br. Burton took him (by now it was 10 minutes before Dr. Burton's office closed). Monte had never had an episode like this in his life and my gut was telling me that something was seriously wrong. But Dr. Burton assured me that Monte would be fine in the morning.
My gut told me to go the emergency hospital. I arrived 10 minutes after Dr. Burton dropped Monte off. The emergency vet told me that Monte was critical, his prognosis was guarded and that he doubted that he would make it
through the night. The emergency vet told me that Dr. Burton brought X-rays with him indicating that Monte had fluid on his lungs (Dr. Burton never told me that he had taken x-rays or that Monte had fluid on his lungs). I stayed with Monte who was in an oxygen cage with a heating blanket (his body temperature on arrival at the emergency hospital was 94.9) for an hour. His eyes were no longer dialated and he responded to my voice (raised his head and looked in my direction). 45 minutes after I got home, I got a call from the emergency vet to say that Monte died. The emergency vet expained the process I needed to go trough to arrange for a necropsy as soon as possible. Monte was autopsied the next day. Over the next several days and weeks, Dr. Burton assured me that he was sure that he had not done anything wrong and that we might never find out what happened to Monte. I was equally sure that I would find out why a healthy animal went into his clinic for a routine procedure (that he had done several times before) became critically ill and died. My gut told me I was not getting all the information and I would have to file a lawsuit to find out what happened.

After taking depositions of Dr. Burton, and 3 lay assistants he called technicians, I found out that an unlicensed lay assistant inserted the endotracheal tube and administered anesthesia, as she had done hundreds of times, to Monte and went to lunch after he was under. Another unlicensed lay assistant, who had done about 30 dental cleanings, cleaned Monte's teeth and removed the endotrachael tube. Dr. Burton was not present to supervise or witness these events. No one monitored Monte's recovery from anesthesia mechanically. The only visual observations were that he was standing. Temperature and respiration were not taken let alone recorded. Dr. Burton was standing in front of Monte's cage talking to two of the assistants when he noticed that he had collapsed. Monte was then put on oxygen, x-ray taken, given lasix and antibiotics.

In California, only licensed registered veterinary technicians, under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian can administer anesthesia and perform dental cleanings. I filed a complaint with the Department of Veterinary Medicine. As a result of my complaint, Dr. Burton received a citation and was fined for aiding and abetting in the unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine, poor record keeping.

Based on motions filed by Dr. Burton's attorney and granted by the judge, my attorney could not mention that Dr. Burton's "technicians" were not licensed and therefore not qualified by the state to anesthesize and clean Monte's teeth. There are other rulings that my attorney is also challenging in the appeal petition for a new trial, but this posting is long enough.

Trust your gut. If it doesn't sound or feel right, it probably isn't. And always take notes. Wish me luck with my appeal.

Always Monte's mom

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Monte's Mom!

Thank you for posting Monte's story! You have educated us all and made us resolve to be ever vivgilant with our babies. You did everything you could have possibly done and I am so sorry that Monte is no longer here. I hope you win your appeal. I do not understand why the judge would rule that you could not bring up the fact that the technicians were unlicensed. That is just wrong. What about the neglignece in telling you Monte would be fine and asking you to take him hom when he was in critical condition? This result is absurd and I wish more people were like you and pursued these things to help prevent the same or similar things from happening to others.

Please let us know how the appeal turns out.

[aimee]

Oh my gosh. Monte's Mom - THANK YOU for sharing your story with us. I'm so so sorry about everything you have gone through and wish you all the luck in the world with your appeal.

Hopefully by your telling this story, more of us will be vigilent against things like this.

[She-ra's Mama]

After reading the story, I feel so bad for her. It's almost like you can't trust anyone. I feel a vet should be just as responsible for deaths as a surgeon is. My heart goes out to the sweetie's family.

[Connie]

Monte's Mom...I feel so bad for you losing your Monte. It's bad enough when a yorkie gets sick, but poor Monte just ended up in the wrong hands. I hope you win your appeal and know I'm thinking of you and wishing you the best!