Fred's last run

Sadly Fred has died.
Even worse, his death was 100% preventable. While running around one sunny afternoon, Fred let out an intense howl of pain and immediately fell right to the ground. He could not get up. He was carried to the car a minute or two after he went down and was on his way to the emergency vet. It was determined that he had vertebrae pressing on his spinal cord. This condition would require surgery to correct.

The day before the surgery the neuro-surgeon briefed me on the procedure and was asked specifically about anesthesia protocol for greyhounds, which is different than other breeds of dogs. The surgeon acknowledged our concerns and assured us he was familiar with greyhound anesthesia.

The day of Fred's surgery the first surgeon had left town to attend to other cases and another surgeon was brought in. There was no mention of the substitution, nor was there an opportunity to brief surgeon on greyhound anesthesia issues for greyhounds.

Several hours after Fred's surgery should have been finished, I called the hospital and was told he did not make it. I was shocked. I listened to the surgeon say, "Fred died, we did all we could do". Without thinking I asked, "what did Fred die from?" His condition was not terminal before the surgery, just dire.

What happened next changed my world for ever. I was told Fred died of Hypothermia. He got so cold he died. This happened before the surgery every began. Fred was given the wrong anesthesia protocol for greyhounds. With a strong pre-sedative the norm, followed by anesthesia, greyhounds hearts slow so much they lose body heat because there heart can't keep the blood following enough to keep the body warm. Simply put, Fred froze to death from the anesthesia. The surgeon and never laid a hand on him.

The hospital was open and honest about their mistake, and further more they wanted to be part of the solution. They told me there are no certified vet anesthesiologists, rather lab techs who may or may not have adequate training or experience. They certainly are not vets. The head of a prestigious vet school said there simply is not enough time to train vets to do anesthesia in the current program. He acknowledged the problem and welcomed any suggestions.

Wonderful, fun loving Fred passed away from an improper anesthesia protocol administered by a vet tech after properly briefed surgeon hands off case and leaves town without saying good bye.

Fred was still to have the last word... but first his 1/2 brother Slammer would suffer one of the worst deaths imaginable at the hands of one of America's top veterinarian universities.