Kristie Pereira said she’s tried to get Beau back after learning he was never euthanized but said the rescue organization she got him from has refused to rehome the dog with her.

Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.

So she was stunned last week to find the dog up for adoption at the same pet rescue organization where she had gotten it.

Calls to the shelter confirmed that her dog had not been euthanized after veterinarians there didn’t think he needed to be. The shelter instead called Lost Dog & Cat Rescue and turned the puppy back over to them.

The rescue confirmed that Friday in a written statement, giving an extensive timeline showing that its veterinarians found no neurological issues with the dog. After tests diagnosing a liver problem and a $7,000 surgery — paid for through a GoFundMe campaign — the dog was declared healthy.

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Yeah but that’s not what happened here. Read the article.

    1. She took it to her Vet.
    2. Vet said it was best to put the dog down.
    3. She took the dog home instead
    4. “Following several sleepless nights with Beau clearly in pain, Pereira said she took Beau to Montgomery County Animal Services” So she didn’t take the dog back to her vet but to a shelter.
    5. “paid $15 for him to be euthanized. She was told that the shelter’s policy does not allow people to stay with their pets as they are put down.”

    Not that I would have assumed this outcome, but it does sound like she signed the dog over to the shelter to be euthanized (for $15). My guess is her vet would charge more, but would have been with the dog when it was put down. So it DOES sound like she signed over the dog to the shelter.

    • catloaf@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Yes, to be euthanized. Because she was told by three different vets AND the shelter staff that euthanasia would be the best action. And then the shelter staff turned around, kept the dog, performed a liver surgery, and is now refusing to make it right to her.

      • citrusface@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Yeah. Hell I might be making some phone calls to a shelter VM when I get off work.

        Encourage you all to do the same.

      • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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        5 months ago

        If the surgery hadn’t worked and the dog had suffered more, what a different story this would be. Owner makes painful decisions to euthanize animal that is suffering. Shelter says they’ll do it but she can’t watch. Decides not to do it and makes the rest of the dog’s brief life miserable.

        • citrusface@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          now that you mention it - thats really fucking weird. Anytime I have had to euthanize one of my animals, ive always been allowed to be there with them.

          • cokeslutgarbage@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            It’s the 10th of Stan Rawlinson’s 10 Pet Commandments:

            -Stay with me on the ultimate difficult journey. Never say, “I can’t bear to watch” or “Let it happen in my absence”. Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember, regardless of what you do I will always love you.

            What a strange, cruel policy from the vet. When I had to put my cat down, my vet had me hold her in my arms while she administered the shot, and then she left the room so it could be just me and my cat til the end. Since I decided to take her body home to bury on my parents’ property, my vet recommended that I show her to my remaining cat so that we could mourn together. She said he would understand what death meant if he got to see her, but he would be distressed more if she just disappeared.

            What a hideous policy for everyone involved, shame on this vet/shelter for so many reasons.

    • citrusface@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Yeah, she did sign it - what I said applies. But other factors are being overlooked - this clearly isnt as black and white as the shelter seems to be making it.

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      Just as a comparison we recently had our cat euthanized (they were end of life and in pain) and it cost us ~200 CAD for the euthanasia and ~300 CAD for cremation. Vet services can be quite expensive and it’s extremely sad that people without disposable income wouldn’t be allowed to be with their pet through euthanasia.