pet owner alert: overnight stays in vet clinics

It's surprising to learn that some veterinary clinics pressure clients to leave pets overnight following surgery when the clinic has no overnight staffing.

I was alerted to this problem several years ago by an article in Bark Magazine about a court case in Portland.  A client left their dog in a clinic overnight following abdominal surgery.  Unbeknownst to the client, the clinic had no overnight staffing.  Staff forgot to place a protective cone on the dog before they left for the night.  During the night, the groggy dog, still numbed by painkillers, chewed off its stitches and then disemboweled itself.  The dog was still alive but in agony when staff arrived the next morning, and it had to be euthanized. 

When clinics fail to be candid about overnight staffing, clients are misled, and pay extra to endanger their pets.  

I have personally experienced this issue with a clinic in Sequim and another in Poulsbo.  The former situation involved a vet who also charged me a total of $1200 to diagnose and treat an infection she knew my dog did not have. 

When the dog experienced severe nausea due to an industrial-strength antibiotic given to her for the infection she didn’t have, she spent the day at the clinic getting fluids.  The vet told me she would call, but didn’t.  When I called close to closing time, she said I could pick the dog up in the morning. 

I asked if the dog would be receiving treatment overnight.  The vet said no.  I asked if there was overnight staffing.  The vet admitted there was not.  She kept saying, “I just think she will be safer.”  I asked repeatedly how she imagined the dog would be safer alone in a clinic for 16 hours than sleeping in my room with me, where I could monitor her and take her to the ER if needed.  She could not come up with an answer, and repeated the same refrain.  I went to the clinic, retrieved my dog, and returned only once after that.

The Poulsbo clinic has a staff member who routinely, aggressively pursues overnight stays, issuing dire warnings about the safety of the pet, implying that services will not be provided if the client does not cooperate, and never discloses the lack of overnight staffing.  She repeatedly insinuated that the clinic director will not “permit” the animal to go home.  She repeatedly implied that pets left overnight in the clinic would have supervision, knowing that this was untrue. She never directly admitted to the clinic staffing situation, but did not deny it when confronted with the facts- absolutely no human presence in the clinic during the night- that I had obtained from several other staff people. 

On one occasion, a rescue dog was to go home with its new owners, a professional couple with many years of dog owning experience, and glowing references from their own vet.  The woman was a nurse.  Yet, this clinic employee repeatedly insisted that the senior dog would be “safer” alone in the clinic overnight than with her new owners.   When face to face and phone threats to me didn’t work, she tried to go over my head by contacting the rescue director- who was aware of the situation and agreed with me.  She then tried haranguing and intimidating the new owners. 

As a result of this most egregious incident, the rescue and I took our subsequent veterinary needs elsewhere.

ALWAYS ask in detail about overnight staffing before you leave your pet in a clinic.  If you don't get a clear answer, ask someone else.  

You cannot be forced to leave your pet overnight.  

If you encounter a clear instance of misleading communcations about this issue, contact your state's veterinary licensing board.

The question remains why veterinary clinics are not consistently  required to be candid about overnight staffing or lack thereof.