A DOG owner embroiled in a lengthy dispute with a vet service says his pooch would still be alive if he had not been prematurely discharged without medication.

Stuart Stallwood, 43, of Colchester, first took his family dog Simba to Penrose Vets, in Brinkley Lane, Colchester, on Friday March 11 last year.

The two-year-old pooch had suddenly fallen ill after swallowing something he shouldn’t have which then became dangerously lodged in his stomach.

At first, the animal experts were fearful Simba would not make it through the day but after removing part of his stomach placed him on an intense treatment programme.

Gazette:

Stuart, whose children are Lily, 6, and Leo, 2, was initially told his Alsatian cross pointer would need to remain at the vets receiving critical treatment until at least Monday.

On Sunday evening, however, a vet from out-of-hours service Vets Now, in Highwoods, told the father-of-two Simba would be better off at home.

Stuart also claims he was told Simba was taking up bed space and costing money which was needed for other animals and so he should pick him up as soon as possible.

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“He was having intense medication but then Vets Now sent him home with no pain relief or anti-biotics,” added the heartbroken father-of-two.

“I had also been told by Penrose Vets and Vets Now Simba should not be discharged until he has passed faeces, but he never did before we were told to pick him up.

“Vets Now told us we should take him back to Penrose Vets first thing the next day for a check-up but they never got an email from Vets Now about an appointment.

“He managed to be seen at 1pm and then was sent home with us again with medication but he started suffering early evening so he had to go back to Vets Now.

“Over night he took a turn for the worse and developed sepsis then at about 2am on the Tuesday we had to make the decision to put him down.”

Gazette:

After his death, which came on the day of his second birthday, Stuart, who had to pay a total of £4,300 in bills, made a complaint which has now been closed.

He said: “My daughter was absolutely devastated because she was hyped up for this birthday and then she wakes up only to be tell her he had not made it through.

“Things could have been so different if they had kept Simba in.

“Vets Now offered me £100 in compensation and I told them that was an insult and would not replace the family pet they made suffer."

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Bosses at Vets Now spokesperson have now responded.

A spokesman said: "Due to client confidentiality, we cannot comment publicly on individual cases.

“Our dedicated team aim to provide a professional and caring service at all times, and the most important thing to us is the welfare of pets in our care.

“The loss of a pet is always a very sad and difficult time, we fully understand the distress that this situation will have caused to all concerned and we have expressed our sincere sympathies to the family over their loss.

“We take any allegations of substandard delivery of care to animals or their owners extremely seriously.

“All incidents are investigated thoroughly and any appropriate action necessary is taken.

“After our internal complaints process is completed, if necessary we will offer mediation to our clients where an independent mediator - in this case the Veterinary Client Mediation Service - will review all of the information and work with both parties to achieve a negotiated resolution. 

“Entering into mediation is done so in good faith and is a legally binding agreement that states that it is confidential.”