This is when you should take your pet to the vet
Our pets won’t tell you when they’re feeling under the weather. There are some signs that you should take your dog or cat to the vet.
Christine Parry and her sister Jennifer Gutierrez were heartbroken when they learned about the sudden death of eight-year-old Cocoa while undergoing dental care at Maryland Veterinary Hospital. The next thing that happened was “salt to the wounds.”
Cocoa had a clean health condition before being under anesthesia for dental treatment on April 23, so it was shocking that he didn’t make it from the table, Parry told USA Today. Staff at Banfield Pet Hospital in Kensington, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C., said they would pay for the necrosis to find the cause of his death. They packaged his body and rushed to a lab in Virginia, but Cocoa was never seen again.
Banfield, part of the national veterinary chain, told the sisters a week later that the package was lost. After the package began to leak, Cocoa’s body was discarded by FedEx, Parry said they were told.
“We can’t really lament, but we’re not getting our dog back, so we’re now devastated. We thought we were at least getting his ashes, but now we don’t get anything.
What happened to the cocoa?
Pary, a 32-year-old business analyst, and his sister Gutierrez, who works for the city government, hired Cocoa and Cocoa brothers Tofu together in 2016. Cocoa was a Gutierrez dog and tofu was a Parry dog. The sisters live together in Silver Spring, Maryland, where they shared four dogs and three cats, including two Chihuahuas.
According to the American Animal Hospital Association, cocoa had to be placed under anesthesia on April 23 for dental treatment. There are several risks, but death is rare, says the American Veterinary Association.
Parry dropped some cocoa that morning.
Parry said Cocoa’s preanaesthesia screening didn’t carry a red flag, so when Banfield called to the table to tell his family they needed CPR, they said they should come right away. By the time they got there, the cocoa was gone.
“My sister was totally – she was totally broken. We said goodbye,” Parry said. “When I asked what had happened, (Banfield) said, “Things had just happened and they did everything they could.” That was it, there was no other answer. ”
Banfield said they would ship cocoa overnight so that necrosis would occur, but a week later the hospital gave Gutierrez and Parry the news that the package had been lost. A few days later they were told it had leaked in transit and was thrown away. They never knew what killed Cocoa and they would not get his body back.
Cocoa was “the sweetest, happiest little Chihuahua,” Parry said. He was always eager for love and affection, and he didn’t nip or growl like many Chihuahuas do.
Of all the fur babies the sisters shared, Cocoa was a pack bar shop, she said. Now their homes are silent.
Cocoa’s family wants the answer: “We don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The sisters want to know what went wrong and make sure this never happens to other families. Paley said they were humiliated when Banfield staff offered to buy a new dog or give them money. She said there’s nothing to replace Cocoa, and most of all, they want to take accountability to someone.
In a statement to USA Today, Banfield said, “Our minds have come out towards the Gutierrez family over the loss of cocoa.” “Pet health, safety and welfare are our number one priority and we will continue to work directly with (cocoa) owners to ensure we can do what we can during this challenging time.”
“Our hospital team has closely followed the delivery instructions provided by the diagnostic lab…” the statement said. “We recognize the weight of what the Gutierrez family is experiencing and demonstrate the greatest importance to this situation. We are working directly with our transport carriers to follow up with our diagnostic labs to identify opportunities to improve and prevent future issues.”
Parry said that if she and Gutierrez knew that if there was a problem during the shipment they might not be able to retrieve cocoa’s body, they wouldn’t agree.
“If you packaged him correctly, why is he leaking? Was the box not marked?” Parry said.
Banfield did not answer further questions about the procedures for shipping animal remains from USA Today for autopsy. Banfield told Parry that cocoa had been shipped to the Virginia Tech Animal Research Institute Service Necrosis Laboratory in Blacksburg, Virginia, about 220 miles away. FedEx tracking information shows the package reached its Tennessee facility before it dropped its radar.
Leaking during transport appears to be a known issue when transporting animals for autopsy. The Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services website leaves remaining guidelines for packaging animals for autopsy, including the use of absorbent materials such as disposable diapers and frozen packs, including the use of at least three layers of plastic bags.
“Packages identified as leaking by the carrier may be confiscated and destroyed, and the sender may be fined,” the lab says in its guidelines. The lab did not respond to questions about how often it would happen. The guidelines also advise against labeling the contents of the package as “dead animals” or “corpse” because the package may be rejected by the transporter.
FedEx generally prohibits the transport of animal corpses, except under certain circumstances. FedEx did not answer a question from USA Today regarding whether Cocoa’s shipments are complying with its policy.
“We express our sincere condolences to pet owners for this heartbreaking situation, as we understand the importance of people’s pet lives. We deal with this issue directly with the hospital that packaged the bodies and arranged for transportation.”
Parry says she and her sister “lost a small part of our heart” when Cocoa dies, and hopes everyone, including Banfield and FedEx, will review their protocols.
“We don’t want to brush this under the rug, we don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.
