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Heartache for dog owner

1:50pm Thursday 27th January 2011 in News By Emma Dunn

Rose Smith with a picture of her dog, Nipper Rose Smith with a picture of her dog, Nipper

A DOG lover is distraught after the remains of her beloved pooch were lost in a pile of ashes following a case of parvovirus.

Rose Smith, 18, of Liden, was told her family pet, Nipper, was suffering from the disease when she took him to Eastcott Veterinary Clinic in August and he was put down 24 hours later.

She requested a separate cremation from other animals but was devastated when they told her that her six-year-old Jack Russell had accidentally been put in a mass cremation and his ashes could not be returned to her.

Rose paid £560 for the service and has since met the director where she was offered £100 and a memorial stone as compensation, which she refused.

“Nipper was worth more than that to us,” she said. “I declined the offer as I feel it unreasonable they should profit from other people’s misery. I also feel pet owners need to be aware of the risk involved with using this business.

“The news was devastating and just added to the emotional distress I was already suffering from losing our family pet and friend.”

She said that Nipper was a house dog and does not believe that enough tests were carried out to confirm that she had the disease, which is passed between dogs.

“We’re so upset we can’t even put pictures up of her – my mum has taken them all down.”

Rose took Nipper to the vets last summer when she noticed she was acting strangely at about 1am.

“I just knew something was wrong and that was the only vet I knew that does call-outs,” she said.

“I booked an emergency appointment and 24 hours later Nipper was put to sleep.

“I asked Eastcott if it was possible to have my Nipper’s ashes back as a memory as I’m sure any animal lover would understand.

“I received a call the next morning informing me that she would be cremated alone and that I could then collect her ashes to take home.

“A couple of days later, I received another call to inform me a terrible mistake had been made and Nipper had been put in the wrong bag and sent for a mass cremation.”

Peter Southerden, one of the directors of Eastcott Vets, said he was unable to comment on the matter.

Parvovirus plagued the town last summer and despite actions taken by Swindon’s pet owners, the numbers of cases increased.

Comments(16)

deanna_xxx says...
3:32pm Thu 27 Jan 11

The dog was so 'beloved' that it was a house dog (ie never went for a walk?) and she never bothered to vaccinate it. Really??? Both my dogs are exercised EVERY DAY for an hour and up to date on vaccinations! If she cared for the dog properly this situation would never have happened.

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deanna_xxx says...
3:44pm Thu 27 Jan 11

Also she is such an animal lover that the dog does not seem to be registered with a regular vet - otherwise she would know who does the 'out of hours' service for her regular vet. It does make me laugh - people just want to get their face in the paper! The mix up was very unfortunate and I feel for her but a jack russell not exercised? Surprised it didn't break a leg bouncing off walls

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findsomedecentnews says...
3:58pm Thu 27 Jan 11

So, let's get this right. This vet turned out at 1am to try and save your 'beloved' unvaccinated dog and you have gone to the papers because they made a mistake regarding it's ashes...please! Had they offered you more money I suppose you would have got over the 'heartache'. They told the truth up front about the ashes and should be commended.
Where was your dog's 'usual vet'. All vets have a 24 hour out of hours service. Surely your much loved dog was registered with a vet.
The parvo outbreak was all over the adver in the summer, why if you loved your dog so much didn't you get it vaccinated?

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findsomedecentnews says...
4:06pm Thu 27 Jan 11

Also it is good to see that you have got over the upset of having your dog's pictures around enough to pose for the camera. £100 and a memorial stone sounds very reasonable to me (perhaps you were looking for another zero). Sorry that your dog has died but this story is a non event. Come on adver surely you can find some news in Swindon!

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who dat? says...
5:47pm Thu 27 Jan 11

ffs -Its just a dog - they eat them in ASIA!!

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deanna_xxx says...
7:01pm Thu 27 Jan 11

DWELLS - It's pretty obvious that you know or are this person. She would not have been out of pocket if she kept the dogs vaccinations up to date because the dog would not be dead - FACT. She does not deserve the joy of owning a dog if she is not responsible and look after it properly! I mean whoever heard of a 'house dog' that's code for her being lazy! If the dog were elderly that's different - it's only 6 years old for goodness sake! The money she has lost is far more than she would have spent for 6 years booster vaccinations so let that be a lesson for her (god forbid) if she were to get another dog!

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politicrat says...
7:56pm Thu 27 Jan 11

sadly this could have been avoided if the pet owners had her pet vaccinated, love is not enough....with having a pet come responsabilities and healthcare bills.
I think it is time that we start thinking seriously at establishing a pet tax in order to protect animals from abuse, neglect and irresponsible/immatu
re pet owners.

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Opinionated Wench says...
8:03am Fri 28 Jan 11

I dont think you have enough facts to be able to slag her off about how or when she exercised or dog or whether she loved it! Just because it's called a house dog doesnt mean it doesnt get exercise. I'm not going to get into the in's and out's of this but i ahve to say i used to use Eastcott until they told me (and charged me) that my cat had cancer and he might not survive as there was a mass in his stomach area... Turns out it was poo and he was just constipated!!! Tell me that isnt a scam to get shed loads of money out of me!!!!

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Gooey says...
9:00am Fri 28 Jan 11

Where does it state in the article that the dog wasn't vaccinated?
Some of you are pathetic...

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tiggermead says...
10:31am Fri 28 Jan 11

Firstly if the dog was vacinated it wouldn't have contracted parvo and like other comments have stated why wasn't the dog registered at a vets ? so obviously no expense was spared on the dogs annual booster and vet check up, was the dog insured as i beleive all animals should be?
It does annoy me when people have pets and then don't look after them properly by that i mean annual vacinations, being registered at a vets
like someone else commented love is not enough it is a serious financial decision to have a pet and it shouldnt be taken lightly.
On the subject of Eastcott Vets i have used them for the last ten years for all my pets vacinations and treatment and i cant praise them highly enough and would recomend them to anyone and before anyone says no i dont work there nor am i a director etc just a very grateful responsible pet owner and animal lover

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tiggermead says...
10:36am Fri 28 Jan 11

who dat? wrote:
ffs -Its just a dog - they eat them in ASIA!!
who dat your some kind of f*cking idiot with a big CAPITAL I

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politicrat says...
10:40am Fri 28 Jan 11

Gooey wrote:
Where does it state in the article that the dog wasn't vaccinated? Some of you are pathetic...
Prevention is the only way to keep CPV2 at bay and protect pets.
There is a vaccination routine to follow, from puppy age to adulthood.
I can understand the pet owner's heartache but she is responsible for the welfare of her pet and should have had nipper vaccinated and tested for immunity. Rose paid £560 for the cremation service, so obviously money wasn't the issue, she should have been more aware of the responsabilities of owning an animal, it is not all down to a vet to educate pet owners.

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findsomedecentnews says...
2:48pm Fri 28 Jan 11

I've just googles cremation and it is only about £120-£150 so surely £560 wouldn't have been for the cremation. That would have been for calling a vet out at 1am and treatment etc I would have thought. I wish the facts were clear in stories like this. I would have thought that it would make more sense to go to the adver to warn other people about how horrible parvo is to save anyone else having to go through this.

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Just another number says...
10:14am Sat 29 Jan 11

In my experience Eastcott Vets were not a suitable place to take my pets. I no longer use them or recommend them to anyone.
-
The dog should have been treated with dignity and respect and cremated according to the owners wishes.

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Gemma09 says...
2:38pm Sat 29 Jan 11

Not all the vets in swindon do emergancy call outs. My cat is registered in Swindon and i know for a fact they dont do them so i would have to use an alternative vet.
Im sure i read that a dog who was fully vaccinated at a puppy age still died of parvo and this was in the advertiser.
I think the artical needs to be read properly rather than assuming..?

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news22 says...
3:11pm Sat 29 Jan 11

This story should have been reported on more. I no longer use this vet for my dogs. People should stop being pathetic and writing stuff about money when this girl obviously went on here because she wanted to warn people about the vets and what they did to her dog.

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