Your Pet Loss Stories

'Charo - A Difficult Loss'

by KDC
(NY)

My family and I had a Chihuahua named Charo for 5 years. She was so wonderful, our best friend a true family member with such a loving personality. Unfortunately the last two years her liver was not doing well and the vet after much testing and diagnosis said she had a liver shunt and recommended surgery to prolong her life because she was getting sick on and off. She was already on medication to help her liver filter out the toxins but according to many opinions and diagnosis the surgery would be the best shot to fix the problem.
We decided after a painful week of back and forth decision making that she would do the surgery and the doctors did not voice concerns about her doing so. I am sad to say the surgery did not go well, the surgeons kept her under for 3 hrs which is unheard of. It turns out they never found a liver shunt and she passed away the day after.

She was vibrant and doing good on the meds before the surgery but from all the previous testing all the doctors convinced us this was the right thing to do and that it was not a risk. The hardest part about my grief and my family's grief is that we feel they were responsible for her death. We were ill advised and she was misdiagnosed. We are in the process of getting a lawyer to fight what happened.

Charo was only 5 and I feel as if she was taken from us because she did not recieve the care she needed. I want people to know not all vets even the most highly reknowned and recommended have you and your pet's best interest in mind. I pray we can get some answers and somehow deal with this grief. I hope this helps someone who has something simliar that they are feeling.

In the end we tried to do what we thought was best for our baby and it did not turn out how we would have hoped. I am hoping for better days ahead, Charo will always be in my heart and my family's.
Remember do not feel guilt about the decisions you make for your pet, the important thing is that you loved them enough to care. Be happy you knew them and had them in your life, I certainly am thankful for having Charo in mine.