This poor, sweet, innocent puppy!
 

You are not going to believe this...that something so horrid could happen in the hands of what is supposed to be a competent veterinarian. My daughter works with a lady who has become friends with us. She got a yorkie/maltese not long after I got Maddie. She named him Scruffy, which fits him so well. She brought Scruffy in a little over a week ago to have him neutered. One of his testicles hadn't dropped, so it was a little more complicated than the normal neutering, but all seemed to go well. About a week later, she noticed something on the skin of his back and feared he had mange. She took him back to the vet and they also thought it was mange and told her to bring her cat in. When she did, the cat was clean and then they asked her to bring Scruffy back in because they were wondering if he may have been burned from the heater they use during surgery. She brought him in and the vet shaved his back to disclose HUGE, thick scabs and then said the scabs have to come off and ripped one off. At that time, Lorna, (the owner), picked up Sruffy and said she wasn't going to allow them to rip the scabs off. She then took him to another vet who immediately knew what was wrong because she had just seen another dog who had had surgery the same day as Scruffy that was burned all up and down her back. She gave medication for Scruffy and said that eventually they would have to put him under and remove the scabs. They are 3rd degree burns...so deep! I saw scruffy last night and nearly cried when I saw him. The scabs were so huge and thick and hard and infection was pushing them upwards. Lorna took him back to the new vet this morn because the burns were getting worse and the vet had to put him under and remove the scabs. Lorna brought him home this afternoon, but the poor little thing...the burns were getting worse, so she had to bring him back there tonight and the vet is keeping him drugged and taking him home with her. She said this will be a 4-6 week recovery and that he will have to be put under 3 or 4 more times to remove scabs. That vet will be researching and consulting a University Vet place regarding Scruffy and the other dog that was burned. The vet also said that it's possible he will have bald spots once recovered...that the hair may not grow back in those areas. Lorna is beside herself with grief and has even wondered if she should get Scruffy put to sleep. The new vet told her not to even think in that area right now...that she is to think positive and hopefully there will be a good outcome.

Tonight Lorna called the vet who did the surgery...his wife answered and Lorna said she needed to talk to her husband, and when she kept insisting she needed to talk to him, his wife hung up on Lorna. I can't believe it! I am so upset over what they did and now won't even talk to her on the phone. Lorna is going to get a lawyer and do what she can to get that clinic shut down. It is Minot Veterinary Clinic in Minot, ND. Anyone with any suggestions for Lorna, please post and I'll pass it on to her. I told her to find a lawyer who has a puppy of his own whom he adores! Also, please, if you would, pray for poor little Scruffy and Lorna. Funny how we all worry when we take our little ones in for surgery...the normal fears about them coming out of the anesthesia and all...never in my wildest dreams could I have come up with worrying about anything this bizzare!

This is horrible. I am not sure what you can do but there be others here that should be able to give some advice for you to pass along to your friend. Poor little guy.

OMG!! That story and pics are horrible! I am so sorry such a thing happened, your right we all worry about the normal fears but never think of something like this happening. I will keep Lorna and Scruffy in my prayers, please keep us posted on his recovery...

Sending lots of hugs and prayers to Scruffy & Lorna.

That is insane. How does a doctor let that happen? Good for her for trying to get him shut down. He should also pay for all the vet bills. Poor Scruffy, I'll be praying for his recovery.

The poor baby, he looks so miserable. I would totally go after the vet to pay for any expense she has in getting him well. That is terrible, looks like he was abused. How could that happen, and how could they not notice that they were causing such damage?

OMGoodness! :eek: How Horrid is that?! Poor Scruffy I feel so bad for him!.. That Vet should seriously be ashamed of himself. I pray for Scruffy's recovery and I pray that something be done to that Vet! :mad: :thumbdown

oh my god!!!! that is really bad,it looks like it really hurts poor baby :( that vet needs to be sued by your friend. seriuosly. that is just horrible any vet that does that to a dog doesn't know what the hell he's doing i would sue full force if that was my baby! :mad: i will pray for him. gosh i'm just in shock :eek: to see that. poor little baby...

I can not believe that this was done by a vet!!! The pictures brought tears to my eyes immediatly. This is soooo sad. I hope that they are giving him good meds so he is not in too much pain. Your friend should call the humane society or ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). This is the website. There is a link to report animal cruelty. www.aspca.org We will keep him in our hearts and pray for a speedy recovery.

That is horrific !!!!!!!! It makes me so upset and mad.
Hell if someone did that to my dog I would get a consumer adovacte after them.
I would get a protest group to picket the vet's place.
I would not stop......the man would be VERY sorry he did that to my dog.
What about the local Animal police? I am so upset I can't type !
I would put that a**hole out of business.

Here is another website to report animal cruelty: www.lisaviolet.com/cathouse/cruelty.html
It is unfortunate that in ND, it is only a misdemeanor for the first offence, but maybe he already has a history of this sort of Negligence. She should Definitely :mad: report it so that he does not get the chance to hurt another pup. This makes me soooooo MAD!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

OMG that poor dog, its heartbreaking that poor baby! :( how was ur friend able to keep her sanity? i think i would have lost my mind :eek:
Please tell ur friend that we keep her baby in our thoughts and prayers and sending him big hugs!

Why would they use a heater during surgery?!? Poor little Scruffy ... we will remember him in our prayers. That vet should have charges pressed against him!!

Sending power prayers
 

Poor little guy! I\'ll definitely keep him in my thoughts. I hope Lorna is able to do something to that horrible vet! Please be sure to keep us posted as to how he\'s doing.

Those pictures had me crying. OMG....That poor poor baby - I think those are the worst pictures of abuse I\'ve seen ! that vet needs to be stopped - Why on earth would there be BURNS from a simple nueter surgery ? What could that vet be thinking sending a poor puppy home like that ? These pictures are haunting.

Please tell your friend not to give up on her precious dog. He might pull through no problems at all, you never know. Pictures like this just kill me. I would find a lawyer as well to try to pursue this matter further.

I agree - I think he need more love than ever and she shouldn\'t give up on him either - Omg - I just want to take him in my arms....and I think that vet needs to be reported or stopped from doing this again - Hang in there with your friend and please let everyone know how this baby is doing....I\'m praying for that angel.

She should contact the local police and file a report of abuse. She should also send in her story and pics to the local newspaper. I feel so bad for that baby, I have never seen burns like that on a pup before. Tell her to stay strong and sue his pants off.

Sending prayers
 

omg thats horriable that vet should be turned in i cant belive he did that it just made me want to cry that poor pup must be in alot of pain . i will be praying for scruffy and his family.

burns
 

A couple years ago on a showlist, a breeder had that happen to a female after a c-section..they had her on a heating pad..there were terrible burns.

Poor baby..please follow through and go to small claims court and sue this doctor. report him to the VMA.

Heads up...if you use a heating pad for litters, always put it under the box..moms can scratch up the bedding and pups will be laying on the bare pad..I am afraid of heat lamps for this reason.

Advice for your friend-

Call your state licensing board. This is malpractice! Also call a local TV news staff and see if they will cover this. This is outrageous!

What a great idea ...it\'s truly a heads up for bad vet practices....with the push to have nueter/spay surgery... this isn\'t something people would ever know could happen - I will always ask about heating pads etc now - that\'s really a good idea Hannah...no one ever wants to see an hurt puppy especially due to negligence by a vet ... and it\'s not the first time? ..what a terrible vet that must be.

This is a great idea, this kind of story does need to be made public so others dont suffer as this little guy did. I hope this jerk pays through the nose what what he has done. I hope scruffy will be ok

I\'m so sorry to hear about Scruffy. What happened to him is horrific!! Poor baby :( Definitely tell Lorna to hang in there with him.

I can\'t believe that!!!! Please keep your friend on track to shut this vet down. That is just unbelievable!! That poor little baby!!! Please give us frequent updates on the vet and pup.

Your Local News
 

Call your local news and see if they will do an investigation on the vet. This is so horrible! I would send pictures to all the local news stations and lawyers and see if you have a case. I would also stand in fron t of the vet and pass out flyers with pictures of they did to you dog. They can\'t get away with this.

Just breaks my heart!

Those pics are horrible, poor lil guy he is probably hurting really bad. My husband is a firefighter so I know first hand of watching a loved one go through 3rd degree burns. Peanut sends him get better puppy kissed!

That is just absolutely horrible! I was talking to a friend here at work who\'s ex is a vet. She said they lay the dog on it\'s back on top of a heating pad and if it gets wet, the thermostat can malfunction. But now they have water heated heating pads that just run warm water through it instead of being heated with coils - or something like that. I just can\'t even imagine what I\'d be doing if that had happened to my dog. Best wishes and lots of hugs to the owner of this poor baby....

Oh my gosh....I can\'t believe those pictures!!!!! Poor Scruffy! I am so sorry to hear about this and will pray that he gets better!