Through tears, Kelly Southard said she and her son Gary Putti miss Odin, their beloved English bulldog.
Five-year-old Odin died of complications after a surgery with the Miami Shores Animal Clinic.
“Odin trusted us and we let him down because we trusted them,” Southard said.
Southard and Putti said a CT scan was too late. The clinic claims the staff did not delay “any testing that was medically necessary.”
Putti said he took Odin to the Miami Shores Animal Clinic on June 13.
“I believe if he got treated properly and quickly that this all could have been avoided and he would still be here today,” Putti said.
Putti said he reported Odin wasn’t eating and was throwing up.
“They said, ‘OK, let’s do a basic X-ray and then we’ll do bloodwork to kinda see what’s going on,’” Putti said.
Dr. Paul Cameu, the veterinarian who treated Odin, did not comment on the case, but the clinic released a statement saying, “diagnostic testing was recommended during Odin’s care and was declined by the family."
Southard and Putti said the clinic’s delay was to blame since it took nearly two weeks for them to learn what was wrong with Odin.
“They didn’t see anything on the X-ray, the bloodwork came back that he had a little infection, some of the white blood cell counts were elevated, so they wanted to treat him with antibiotics,” Putti said.
After three days, Odin was still sick and constipated, so Putti returned to the clinic, and Odin underwent intravenous therapy overnight and more tests.
Putti said a CT scan revealed a blockage. He has been plagued with questions since.
“When I took him back and told them he’s still not eating, he’s still not popping, why wasn’t it a priority to do a CT scan then and dig deeper into what the problem was?”
The surgery was on June 23 -- 10 days after the first visit.
“I was feeling great, like, ‘OK, we figured out what’s going on, it’s been solved, now just the recovery process, we’re good,’”
The vet removed a mango pit from Odin’s intestines.
“I kept kissing him on his nose, and I said, ‘Odin I love you, I love you!’ I said, ‘You’re coming home Saturday,’” Southard said.
Odin died on the operating table during a second emergency surgery on June 24.
“Not being diagnosed properly, not being treated quickly and then on top of that, the surgery failing,” Putti said adding, “It was just a mess, from start to finish, it was poor.”
Putti received bills for about $5,000. With Odin dead, the clinic claimed it had refunded all but $67 to Putti as a gesture of compassion.
“He loved life; he was so full of energy,” Southard said about her “grand-dog” Odin. “He loved everybody and everybody loved him ... There’s no more playing with balls. There’s no more snuggle time.
“There’s no more I love yous, it’s all gone.”
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