How could a vet put a dog to sleep by mistake?

[Jodie Rangers]

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I read an article earlier about a mix up between two owners and unfortunately the wrong dog was put to sleep. I have never heard of it happen before in real life.

How is that even possible? Normally a vet will ask the owner of a dog to sign a consent form or at the very least explain what is going to happen to the owner. When I had to get the family’s dog put down a few years ago I was taken into a room and a vet explained to me exactly what was going to happen and then allowed me to have ten minutes with him before the procedure took place.

And anyway, aren’t the needles with euthanasia kept locked away from all of the other needles such as vaccinations? How come vets never mix up the needles? That may sound like a silly question, but it’s not every day you hear about the wrong day being put to sleep.

 

[JoanneF]

I can't imagine how it could happen, do you have a link.

If the dogs were very similar perhaps the vet thought one was the other. Maybe they looked similar or behaved similarly enough to make him think he was dealing with the same dog - but of course he could have /should have checked their identity.

 

[JudyN]

It's not possible to comment without knowing the full details. Otherwise it's all just speculation and knee-jerk reactions.

 

[Jodie Rangers]

Vet put dog down by accident and tells heartbroken owner 'mistakes happen'

The article is quite a few years old now, but I came across it yesterday.

 

[RGC]

From your link the incident took place in 2014 and, if my understanding of the newspaper is correct, it was a misunderstanding of a question from the vet and the owner’s response. It’s unfortunate that a reaction to a newspaper headline has caused your dismay and subsequent entry onto the forum. Stay calm my beating heart.

 

[JemimaGoldie]

Another reason to never let my dog out of my sight!

 

[RGC]

As this is a ‘General’ forum I can only caution that a control is required on certain individuals’ hysteria. There are more important things in life, I’ve found, like cake baking and developing a dry sense of humour.

 

[arealhuman]

Mr. Chinnery managed to do this, so it's not impossible.