A WARNING TO PEOPLE WHO GO TO
VETERINARIANS DURING THE PANDEMIC
By Anne Muller, Editor of the Wildlife Watch Binocular
If you’ve taken your companion animal to a veterinarian during the pandemic, you know that veterinarians are not allowing their human family inside. That can, and in my case has resulted in being given instructions loosely in the parking lot that, if not clearly understood, or if not given at all, can result in injury or death of your beloved companion
When there is no in-person contact with patients’ families, new protocols need to be implemented. When giving a product as potent as insulin to a family member to administer, the first step is to demonstrate with a diagram, zoom, or in person, just how to measure a unit on the syringe they’ll be using.
What should have been the beginning of a new medical program for Bee turned into a nightmare for which I will never forgive myself or the veterinary office.
I understand that veterinary visits are being done in an unprecedented way, and that the protocols have not yet been worked out, but I implore everyone, vets, staff, and human companions of patients to be crystal clear about dosages and techniques for helping their companion animals. Veterinary offices should not assume anything. They need to give clear instructions using detailed diagrams or photos, even in the parking lot.
My boy didn’t deserve to die, I didn’t deserve to have not been shown the correct dosage and to live forever with the guild of having killed my boy with an insulin overdose. I was the person he trusted most in the world. Compounding the tragedy, BeeBee misses his brother terribly and has been grieving for him, as have I.
I can only pray that this helps someone else. The veterinarian said they will be changing their procedures based on what happened.