I have no reason to think that killed him. - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 29/09/2011 04:47:55 AM
there are absolutely no documented complications from a neuter that would cause that kind of situation.
However, prostate cancer is a well documented killer of old dogs.
Now, I would not recommend elective surgery in a 12 yr old dog regardless. Unless they had reason to believe he was in realistic danger of developing prostate or testicular cancer, there's no particular medical reason i can think of. But, assuming it was a properly performed neuter with no issues arising, it would not have killed your dog.
And it definitely does not make us veterinarians sons of bitches intent on torturing animals because apparently it's all "we're qualified to do".
I appreciate that you were attached to your dog and are angry that he died. However, please do not project your anger and frustration on a very large profession of very dedicated individuals, most of whom are anything but "sons of bitches".
However, prostate cancer is a well documented killer of old dogs.
Now, I would not recommend elective surgery in a 12 yr old dog regardless. Unless they had reason to believe he was in realistic danger of developing prostate or testicular cancer, there's no particular medical reason i can think of. But, assuming it was a properly performed neuter with no issues arising, it would not have killed your dog.
And it definitely does not make us veterinarians sons of bitches intent on torturing animals because apparently it's all "we're qualified to do".
I appreciate that you were attached to your dog and are angry that he died. However, please do not project your anger and frustration on a very large profession of very dedicated individuals, most of whom are anything but "sons of bitches".
Nor do I hold all vets responsible for losing him. When I said, "those" I did not mean all vets, but the particular ones in question. They also had him on umpteen different drugs, including one that not even approved for use in dogs (and only recently approved for animals.) It seemed more like a retail high end pet food store and experimental treatment facility than a veterinary clinic to me. They made the last year to year and a half of his life utterly miserable without ever managing to diagnose him, so perhaps it is less than surprising he stopped eating for a week before we took him a final time, they told us he was in massive multiple organ failure, and then put him to sleep. We still have no idea what killed him; multiple organ failure is, as I, you and any vet worth their salt knows, a symptom, not a cause. If they were MDs I would probably sue for malpractice.
My mom has a new vet now, one against whom I have no complaints, though he also had to put down one of our dogs later. That dog was also quite old, running a massive fever and had a badly swollen liver of his own due to infection and there was little to be done at that point except put him out of his misery, which is what we did.