Dog survives euthanasia

Miakoda

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Last Updated: October 16. 2010 6:57PM

Donations accepted to care for dog that survived euthanization
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News

Redford Township -- People wishing to help pay for the care of a dog who was euthanized last week only to revive the next day can send donations to a Dearborn Heights veterinarian's office.

Caputo Animal Hospital, 8188 North Telegraph is accepting the donations, said Matt Olivarez, whose dog Mia has attracted national attention.

"I don't want the money," said the 27-year-old Olivarez, who recently moved from a house in Redford Township to an apartment in Detroit. "This has never been about me. I just want to help my dog." Mia, an 11-year-old rottweiler, has a spinal problem that veterinarians are trying to diagnose, Olivarez said. Medication has been prescribed and if the dog makes it through the next few days, she may not have to be put to sleep, he said.

"It is just amazing," Olivarez said.

Mia cannot get around right now and Olivarez is feeding her by hand. But the dog seems to be responding to her medication and no longer whimpers as if in pain, he said.

'The medication is kicking in," he said.

Olivarez took Mia to Westcott Veterinary Care Center in Detroit last Saturday to be euthanized because his beloved pooch was in severe pain. He took the dog home with the idea of burying her in his yard.

But when he went to bury her on Sunday, the dog was not where he had laid her in his garage. She was near her food bowl and looking as if she had wondered where he had been, Olivarez said.

"It was scary," said Olivarez, a horror movie buff. " He initially said he couldn't euthanize her a second time, but now says that he doesn't want Mia to be in pain. If the new vets say she needs to be put to sleep, he won't fight it.

"I have been surprised at the attention," he said of people from across the country who have offered to donate money or to adopt Mia. "I didn't know there were so many dog lovers out there." Olivarez' mother Brenda Shead said people can donate $1 each to help with care, which could include surgery.

Westcott officials were not available for comment. The center declined comment earlier this week.

Caputo Animal Hospital was closed today. For information about donating, call (313) 564-1058


From The Detroit News: Donations accepted to care for dog that survived euthanization | detnews.com | The Detroit News
 

Miakoda

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Ummm........me thinks a vet better be on the hot seat with the AVMA board. How on earth do you do such a thing? Wow.
 

Romy

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Holy cow, I'm really glad he didn't bury her right away. It would have been horrifying for her to wake up underground, and nobody would have known. I'd be super pissed if it was my dog.
 

LauraLeigh

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Holy cow, I'm really glad he didn't bury her right away. It would have been horrifying for her to wake up underground, and nobody would have known. I'd be super pissed if it was my dog.
I second that..... Such a heartbreaking thing to go through in the first place... I can't imagine...
 

Romy

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It's just plain creepy. I mean, how many euthanized animals are kept laying around for a day or so afterward to give them a chance to wake up if they survive? Ugh. I hate to think the survival rate might be higher than we think.
 

*Amy*

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#10
I read the title for this post and had to read it again because I was thinking "there's no way I read that right." It really does make you wonder how often that actually happens, but no one knows. :(
 

Lolas Dad

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I guess it just was not the dogs time to go. Can you imagine this happening to a convict who was served the death penalty. What would they do in a case like that?, set him or her free? :yikes:
 

Brattina88

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I read this on a site somehere and someone was saying it was because the dog food the dog was fed is one of the brands the FDA found traces if the euthanasia drug in it or something... and they think there's a link :confused: :rolleyes:

But OMG :eek: there are no words!! I think I stopped breathing the first time I read it! :yikes: Wow.....
 
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Well the standard dose for the stuff I used (I'm an ACO /euth tech although not employed right now) was 1cc/10lb. of body weight.
However, older and infirm dogs need a higher dose a lot of times, so maybe the vet just used the standard dose and the dog just got very sleepy.
I could see it happening.
It happened here at the big shelter where I used to volunteer, and they went to the freezer a few hrs. later or whatever and there was the dog, walking around (it was a big industrial freezer).
Anyway, I could see it happening but it's strange for it to happen at the vet clinic...they are usually more careful. Our vet listens to their chest until their heart stops beating.

I used to just overdose by a good 2-3 cc's just to make sure, when I had a big dog to do, when I worked.

**A thought just occurred, maybe...just maybe, they underestimated this dog's weight as well.
Or went on an old weigh and it weighed more than they thought...
 

Miakoda

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Dach, we always overdose as well. And there are many reasons how this could've happened (not being in the vein, not correct dosage, poor circulation, etc.).

For me, it's the fact that the vet didn't make 100% sure that the dog was gone. We never bag up a pet until their is no heartbeat for a few minutes as witnessed by both vet and tech.
 
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Yeah - exactly - they must have got lazy and didn't listen.
I always kind of find that interesting they'll listen, I never had a stethoscope at the shelter building but then again, I learned in my euth. class that the only "true" sign of death is rigor mortis!
 

JessLough

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Wow. How creepy that would have been!
I had a bird die once.. my mom poked it and everything, it never woke up... I went up a few hours later to bag the bird, and it was flying around. I just about **** myself.

Also, when I took Rogue in to be done, he had to have THREE lethal doses. First one just made him sleep.. the second put him in a coma, the third finally finished him. Was not the vet fault, she was very apologetic, not like it was traumatic to me or Rogue.
 
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Fleera

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My aunt's dog, a JRT, had been hit by a car and was in pretty bad shape. So they had him put to sleep and they were going to bury him at home. On the drive back home with him in the back of the car, she saw in her rear-view mirror that he had stood up. She almost had an accident. Poor dog went on to live a number of years after that and didn't stop chasing cars either.
 

stafinois

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#20
We always REALLY overdosed all of the ones being taken home for burial. We wanted to be sure they were all dead rather than just mostly dead.

When I was just a teen going to work at my first clinic, I had no idea that euthanasia solution was just old school anesthetic that you overdosed them on. My second or third day I helped with a dog that had been dropped off for euthanasia. My boss had just given the injection when he was called away for an emergency, and he told me to just leave the body on the table for the time being.

I went about my business when I swore that I saw the dog move out of the corner of my eye. I figured I was imagining it. A while later my boss came back to find a horror struck kennel girl and a "dead" Standard Poodle standing unaided. Then they explained the actual qualities of the drug used, and we all got a funny story to tell.
 

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