[gracielove]

In order to treat an animal or a human properly a diagnosis is needed. Starting an IV and putting the dog on O2 would be basic standard procedure. If the dog was not responding normally and there was an apparent wound, x rays would be standard and should be done as soon as possible. An emergency vet should have a portable x-ray machine that would not disturb the dog's stabilization at all and would have certainly helped the doctor to obtain the very needed diagnosis. There is no excuse for not doing an x-ray on an injured dog in an emergency situation, especially with the possibility of a gun shot wound. What if there had been internal bleeding? A collapsed lung is not to be left over night either. With so many unknown possibilities in this situation, an unobserved injury, there are many tests that could have been done. Just starting an IV gives the the opportunity to obtain blood for testing. It seems they did the very basic things that could be done.

Maybe they were under staffed and unprepared to deal with the situation. Maybe another emergency was going on at the same time. What ever the reason was they did take a big risk in leaving an internal injury undiagnosed until morning and this is not what an emergency room is for. It sounds like they were waiting for someone who knew what they were doing to show up.

I hope the owner reported the gunshot to the police. It is illegal to shoot any domestic animal with a pellet gun. Who ever did it should be charged and be responsible for the vet bills.

If it were me I would take the dog to a specialist to look at that pellet by the spine. I would certainly want a second opinion of the whole situation.