The Undercover Vet: Vaccinate your pet at your own risk

I remember a story that my boss (also a vet) once experienced and thought it would be worth sharing.

An owner once brought in her pug dog in for the annual vaccination (against distemper, parvovirus, parainfluenza, hepatitis and leptospirosis). The dog had a routine check up and was found to be healthy. The vaccine was given and the dog was sent home.

Less than an hour later, the owner rang up panicking that her dog was having difficulty breathing. She was advised to bring the dog in immediately. 10 minutes later, the lady arrived with the dog dead (no heart beat and not breathing). The dog was declared dead. The owner was insistent that the vaccination was to blame and began shouting and accusing my boss of being a murderer.

The possibility of an anaphylactic (severe allergic) reaction was discussed. It has been known for animals and people to react badly to anything that they may be allergic to. This dog had never had any previous adverse reactions to the vaccinations, which seemed a little odd. It was decided that a postmortem should be conducted to determine the cause of death.

The postmortem revealed that the dog had a dog treat ("greenie") lodged at the back of the throat blocking the windpipe and stopping the dog from breathing. Pugs (like other brachycephalic dogs e.g. pekingese, bulldogs) have terrible mouths and airways, with lots of excessive and unnecessary tissue, often leading to problems during their lives.

The owner was informed that the pug had been given a treat, that had not been chewed properly resulting in it getting lodged in the airway causing an obstruction, which led to his death. The owner admitted that she had given a greenie chew to the dog once she got home from the clinic. However, she proceeded to shout and blame my boss for the poor dog's death. Her logic was that if my boss hadn't given the vaccine, she wouldn't have needed to give the dog a treat at home as a reward. She yelled further abuse and then stormed out of the clinic never to be seen again.

Maybe the pug's demise came from choosing to gargle instead of spitting or swallowing???