Im just going to get this out now, so I can mourn without so much anger... Joplin has got to get another overnight/weekend pet clinic. I knew walking in I needed to be video taping, I will forever regret not doing it. I had already told the vet that I was on the phone with (from Springfield) that they wouldnt give treating him ANY real care, ANY real concern. He stopped breathing while I was talking to this vet, he said get him and go, you have about 7-9 minutes..... Dantley did cpr the entire drive (90 second drive tops), I called to let them know the situation and that we were a mile away..... We walk in, I hand the very cold, RUDE lady (who I had just been sobbing into the phone to, but she showed zero general concern) my dog... my DOG... as in a part of our life, a part of my childrens lives, their childhood... so many of you know exactly what I mean. She says well start cpr, wait here... And turns and walked to the back with him.. slowly you could say. Ive been down that road with these people. Hence my hesitation to take him in sooner. I will save THAT story, this one will be hard enough... So, I wait 30 seconds, hear the ONLY two people in the building talking, speaking to each other, not doing cpr....so... I walk around the counter and to the room in the back. . Stunned Im standing there watching them talk to each other, the doc says uh... Hes dead. By this time Ive called the Springfield vet back, hes SO very in disgusted awe they didnt attempt cpr or start oxygen since it had still been mere minutes. I asked them why they didnt attempt it, half awake and honestly appearing half sober, he slurs I told you, hes dead.... I started to cry... Ill be honest... CRY, as in really, really cry. When I finally caught my breath, he asked if we wanted to know the cost to cremate him.. I said I want my dog, and I want you heartless people to find another profession that you may actually enjoy enough to put some effort into, and I want to see staff in this place that CARE, people that will TRY... And yes, I yelled that..more of yell over your sob..... still crying pretty hard. He responded oh you know what, get your f***in ass out of here now you get out now I told your ass he was dead.... At this point Dantley is heading back to get him off of the table so we can take him home and bury him properly... the vet shoves him back and tells him he needs to get out, too. At this point, Dantley hasnt spoken a single word. Not one word. Hes only cried in the waiting area (he was asleep when Mar stopped breathing so being awoken to that I think still had him in shock)- to my amazement, pure amazement, my husband kept his cool, told me to go wait in the car, and he calmy went and got the dog. I stayed on the phone with the very nice, kind and extremely apologetic vet in Springfield. He explained many ways an 11 yr old dog of that breed can decline in mere hours, in an attempt to make us feel better, (you know, human empathy from a true animal lover).. and told me how greatly he hoped we reported this incident. He let me tell him all about my Mar... cry in his ear... it was a far extreme opposite of what this hell of an.animal clinic here offers. Who knows if that would make a difference. Who knows if this is what I should be doing right now, sharing this story rather than just sobbing into my pillow until the sun comes up. I went from counting Mars breaths per minute, wondering how Id stay awake all night to make sure he knew I was right there if he needed something, to walking into the kitchen to talk to.Springfield vet ABOUT those breaths per minute, to hes not breathing all in a flash. It still feels like a bad dream.... But what I do know, is this is the second dog Ive lost in a little over a year and both times this emergency pet care has proven they DONT CARE, no pet care in or about that place. Id venture to say no one has a hero story, a good ending, or just an example where they shared their care and concern for someones pet.. And if someone has one, PLEASE share it, so I can regain a little tiny faith in the people Ive encountered in that building... because they are monsters to me. Heartless, cold, money hungry, callous, snide, arrogant monsters. All I ever hear is awful, sad stories and ridiculously cold incidents and yet every vet in town has turned their weekend/late night care over to this place. My only other option was a 55 minute drive, which wasnt recommended with the pain he was starting to show. Sorry for the novel. . Point of it is only to say this area, our pets of this area, deserve better, deserve more, deserve a we did all we could when its that time.... And I feel like my family, my kids deserved that, that we did all we could moment- and with them its just never given. Marmar, you were the most lovable, adorable, protective pup... a Rottweiler attitude in a cocker spaniel body with a Barbara Streisand face... I will never forget the lady at the humane society telling us you werent a dog for people with kids, and we moved on to another dog, yet that look in your eyes said give me a chance ... you proved to be a real live lassie many times for my babies. Ill miss your stinky breath in my face, your stalkerish ways when I went into a bathroom, and that overall feeling of Im sitting here with my best friend - and he happens to be a dog, weird, but he just GETS me. I cant even imagine telling all of your other best friends in the morning.. THEY will miss you terribly, not a routine moment of the day will be the same for any of us.... no words express that dread. You were our pet, our friend, our guard dog, our doorbell, our car ride companion, I loved the laughter of people watching me sneak you into hotels during baseball season, and you were a champ for putting up with my awful middle of the night tossing and turning, giving me the eye for waking you up so often... you were the best.. just simply the best. You. Were. Loved. And in honor of you Ill do what I can to make sure other 4 legged family members have a place to go for better care, for good humane treatment, for that we did all we could treatment... I promise. I have to tell Olivia I broke my promise to her, youre no longer here, so I assure you I wont break this one in making sure theres something better for the fur babys in this area in the future. RIP Marmar.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 07:49:12 +0000