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Pre-Existing Medical (Scenario Three)

Dog Daycare Insurance (Scenario Three)

The following scenario is one that actually happened at my facility.

A clients dog a Border Collie named Walker (A wonderful Dog) whom had passed the temperament test and had participated in Dog Daycare on numerous occasions before checked in one morning for Daycare as usual. Everything was great, lot's of dogs, running and playing, wrestling and tussling around, doing Dog Stuff. At around noon my staff began slowing down the playgroup in preparation for daily nap time. As per routine, the dogs were taken outside for a good potty break before coming back in to take a nap. I just happened to be in the immediate area and started to lend a hand in herding the dogs from one area to another. When this happy, healthy, barking, smiling Border Collie suddenly froze solid in his tracks, he let out a deep sigh then his legs began to slip out in front of him and he did a nose dive into the floor. I immediately bent down to assess the situation and the health of the dog when he started a series of violent seizures, which ended in him not breathing.

 
At this point the facility went into emergency procedure mode, I checked his airway by opening his mouth and doing a deep sweep of his mouth and throat, no blockages were present, I then checked for a femoral pulse (located on the inside of the rear legs near the scrotum). The dog had a pulse but was still not breathing so I began mouth to snout CPR. At the same time my staff called our pre-designated emergency veterinary hospital to inform them of the inbound emergency patient (A vet hospital that you have a standing relationship with and that is your first choice when an emergency presents itself). My staff then called the dogs vet of record to have its medical information faxed to the emergency veterinary center, so it would be there upon our arrival.

All other dogs were placed back into the play area and secured and all other activity within the facility stopped. The dog was immediately transported to the vet where he arrived with a pulse, but it subsequently stopped, and even after adrenalin injections to the heart and the best efforts of a trained veterinary emergency staff the dog died.

This is a horrible feeling, to have a clients dog die while in your care. At this point the cause of death had still not been determined so it places you the dog daycare owner in a situation of self doubt, did I do something wrong, did he get into something, and above all the most imposing thought in your mind, "Is this my fault?". There were no medical conditions listed on the client card, so what went wrong?

After the dog passed away it's medical records from it's primary vet arrived at the emergency center where he died, it detailed the fact that the dog had a condition called megaesophagus which refers to a syndrome in which the esophagus becomes flaccid and weak, thus it becomes much larger than normal, hence the term megaesophagus. As a Dog Daycare Owner there is no way that you can diagnose this condition, nor would you have any idea that a dog in your care has this genetic defect as it can only be diagnosed by performing X-Rays on the chest.

The major cause of death for dogs with this condition is aspiration pneumonia, or taking fluid or other material directly into the lungs (drinking large amount of water after playing can cause this). The dog can develop sudden and severe pneumonia (inflammation and abnormal filling of the lungs with fluid), then die of asphyxiation (oxygen deprivation). All the CPR in the world won't help if the lungs are incapable of transferring oxygen to the red blood cells due to inflammation or being filled with fluid. Dogs with this condition are susceptible to sudden death at any time, even if no signs or symptoms have been present for months. 

In this situation our facility was cleared of any wrong doing due to an earlier diagnosis by a different vet of this pre-existing condition, however what if this diagnosis had never been made? What would have happened then?. The presumption of guilt would be upon us as having done something negligent to cause this dogs death until we could prove otherwise. This would involve paying for a necropsy (an animal autopsy), possibly dealing with the press, grieving and angry owners, lawsuits etc.. It pays to be prepared and have insurance for situations in which you may have to prove your innocence.

Yes, all other dogs in the facility were moved to the play areas and secured before beginning the transportation process of the dying dog. The last thing you need during an emergency is to create another one with an escape. Secure the area, Secure the Animals in Your Care, begin transportation.

The owner was notified after transportation to the vet had commenced, why? Because during an emergency, you don't have time to explain the details to the owner, you do not have time to deal with their emotional response be it anger, terror, grief etc.. The one thing that you need to be focused on is getting the dog the emergency treatment that it needs, not being a grief counselor. Going over the details of the incident and symptoms with the owners via phone, while the dog lies clinging to life on the floor of your facility is not the best course of action.
 

 It took a total of four minutes from the time the dog went down, until he was receiving treatment at the emergency vet, this is due to a solid emergency plan and a trained staff. You do not need to waste time trying to diagnose and cure the problem, if the dog is not breathing begin emergency procedures and let the vet diagnose and cure the problem.

Walker

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