[gracielove]

Originally Posted by jp4m2

Having been on the receiving end of a wrongful death with one of my beloved pets I don’t consider the monetary compensation *unimportant”. When this sort of thing happens to a person the incredible sense of loss and devastation is horrendous. The angry feelings can leave a person with a feeling of needing to do something. While some people may choose to do nothing others may want/need to seek justice. It's a difficult choice and each one has it's problems.

I consider my pets very close family members. They provide love, companionship, and years of enjoyment. If my pet was victimized and one of the few ways I could seek justice for that pet is to use the legal system then that is a perfectly legitimate place to go. The monetary compensation doesn’t make me feel better, but it does offer a way to make the vet accountable. Having the ability to make the vet answer in court is a way to say your pet counted, your pet was the victim, your pet mattered. Someone needs to be held accountable if the actions of the vet caused/contributed to the death. After all, if a person was just seeking justice through the court to make out financially this would not be the way to go, after all our pets are not worth much in our legal system. This is a tool to send a message….What if no one took action to hold the person accountable? Why would they make changes as to how they practice medicine if no one held them accountable?

Filing a complaint is also a tool but it also has its problems. The veterinarian boards dismiss at least 80%-95% of these cases. While it’s also a tool to hold the vet accountable the likely hood it will take place is slim to none. If the case is dismissed there is no complaint to see, or they mark the record “no violation found”. I wonder if a human family member was the victim of malpractice/ negligence would the same be said that the monetary compensation is not important. We have three choices to seek retribution, use the legal system, use the medical boards or just leave it up to karma. The person who suffers the injustice is the one who will make the choice that they can live with, sadly none of the choices are easy ti live with.

I believe you misunderstood my statement.