Mass. family: Cat taken for flea bath euthanized

(AP) GARDNER, Massachusetts - A Massachusetts woman says her cat went to the veterinarian for a flea bath but was mistakenly put to death.

Colleen Conlon of Gardner is grieving the loss of 8-year-old Lady, which she attributes to negligence by the vet, Muhammad Malik. Malik's lawyer says people should wait until all the facts come out before passing judgment.

Conlon's 24-year-old son, Jesse, took Lady to the Broadway Animal Hospital last week and unknowingly authorized the cat to be put to sleep after he says he was handed the wrong forms. He says he learned of the mix-up when he returned with a second cat and the vet asked whether he wanted to keep the body.

"At first he thought it was some cruel joke," Conlon told the Telegram & Gazette newspaper.

But the vet told her son he'd signed the papers. Her son didn't leave the other cat at the vet's office, Conlon said.

Conlon said she has filed a complaint with the state attorney general's office and plans to talk with state licensing officials.

"I don't think there was any malicious intent, but I do think it was negligent," Conlon said. "I'm sure there are standards of practice they have to follow."

Conlon's daughter had given her the cat about a year before she was killed in a car accident in 2010.

Malik's lawyer, Michael Sheridan, said Malik is well-respected and has saved many animals' lives during his 30 years as a veterinarian.

"He's treated thousands of animals, keeping them healthy and strong," Sheridan said.

Sheridan declined to comment on a one-year probation period imposed on Malik's license in 2005, for failing to follow standards when he treated a dog's paw in 2002, the newspaper reported. Malik also was ordered to take 25 hours of continuing education in radiology and orthopedics.

[ampsanne]

I worked for a vet. And I certainly can't go along with the office help in this case. Our forms to euthanize an animal had to be signed by the owner only. Other than that we had our own forms that were filled out what was to be done, like boarding them, baths, etc. One incident we had a man bring his dog in to board while he was on vacation. While he was gone, his wife called and said we should put the dog to sleep. We kind wondered about it, so did not put the dog to sleep. Then the man called up to see how his dog was doing, and we said we hadn't put it to sleep yet. Well he didn't want the dog put to sleep, it was his wife that wanted it done. Apparently they were having marital problems. Believe me we were relieved that the dog hadn't been euthanized because otherwise we would have had a lawsuit on our hands probably.
This woman's son probably didn't even bother to read what he was signing. But the receptionist or whoever was taking care of it, should have asked a second time or said now you want the cat put to sleep?, she should have made him aware of what he had signed.

[In2theDark]

What kind of vet would put down a healthy animal? Any ethical vet would need an appropriate medical condition to constitue euthenasia. I bet this vet won't be in business to much longer.

[venusvegasvada]

Sad situation.

Sounds like the 24 year old son was in too big of a hurry to actually read what he was filling out. Despite the he should have or she should have, the bottom line is the son filled out and signed the paperwork authorizing the cat to be killed. If anything, the actual owner on record should have been contacted for confirmation before proceeding.

Next time I'll bet he slows down for a second and actually reads the papers he's filling out.

[afriskyr]

I have trouble placing blame on the woman or the son in this case. It seems to me that the vet doctor should have questioned the euthanasia request on a cat that was not unhealthy but just had fleas. That might have led to a call to the cat owner and the situation would not have had this tragic outcome. This situation speaks of a bigger problem: veterinarians putting down healthy animals. Healthy animals who are unwanted by their owners should be handed over to the humane society or animal shelter so the pets have the chance of being adopted into a new home. That doctor had no business euthanizing this cat because those type of requests should only be allowed on sick animals who have no hope of recovering.

[lillyhorton]

The son tells the receptionist the cat needs to be dipped, she hands him the wrong papers but it isn't the receptionists mistake? Does he/she speak english? Did the recepyionist not go through the papers with him explaining the basics of what he was signing? The receptionist isn't taking responsibility. Maybe the office needs to put the euthanizing papers separate from all the others. Maybe they should be in files so you don't "accidently" castrate a pet when he should have been dipped.

[Lerianis4]

That is actually what our local vet does as well. Euthanasia papers are in a locked cabinet that only the top receptionist has access to and she has to go into the doctor's office in order to get them.

[ralphing]

I don't believe any of this. We had to have two of ours dogs euthanized over the past to years, and the forms are very detailed. You have to sign three times on one form. The signature blocks have to be witnessed and countersigned only after reading the statement and initialing in a bunch of places. It took a great deal of time, and there is no way you could do it and not know what you were signing. Ending a life isn't as simple as quickly scrawling your signature on the bottom of a form. No reputable Vet would do that to a cat unless it had a through examination and they agreed it was best for the animal.

There's also a large fee for putting down an animal, plus a fee for disposing of the body. There are forms to be filled out for that also. The Vet requires payment up front for all of this before they will perform the procedure. It cost me over $300, and while being torn up over the decision, I had to give them my credit card and sign the receipt before it was done. You don't have to do all of that for a flea dip, nor is it that expensive.

[tmn]

No excuse for what was done, but a teachable moment here - NEVER just sign a document put in front of you. STOP and READ IT - ALWAYS!!

[Lerianis4]

Most people are too busy to stop and read things like this that basically amount to a bunch of legalese.
If the papers were much easier to read, then I would say that people should read them.

[aChangeOfIdeas]

So the vet comes in, has a cat with signed authorization papers to euthanize, he completes the unfortunate task (yes, ask a vet how much they like that part of their job) and now everyone thinks the VET is at fault. Not the guy who doesn't read papers before signing them?

And why is everyone saying that the vet should have seen there was nothing wrong with the cat? Maybe there WAS something wrong with the cat.

[ralphing]

There is more to it then just a quick signature. You have to initial in many places to give explicit consent. There is no way you can quickly sign off on something like that.

[aprender301]

His license needs to be taken away and give him a fine in the thousands of dollars.

[Lerianis4]

Don't automatically say that his license needs taken away. **** like this can happen, that is why I always read the forms to make sure what I am consenting to for myself or my pets first.

[Dogchic]

Beware of vets or anyone to whom you entrust your precious animal! This vet should have his licensed revoked forever and be sentenced to jail. He murdered an innocent animal. "Negligence" is not a sufficient reason nor is subjecting the vet to 25 hours of continued education courses a sufficient punishment. Euthanizing any animal for any reason is murder. Period. And why any vet could ever justify doing this to a healthy animal regardless of the request of the animal's caregiver is beyond my understanding, acceptance, or forgiveness. It doesn't matter how many animals this man has "saved" prior to this act. He was paid royally for the service and "saving" others doesn't preclude the fact of the crime he has committed.

[htn1967]

I am very sorry for this woman's loss, it is a sad situation.

However, the vet may have handed her son the wrong forms, but why on earth would he sign a form authorizing euthanasia? Didn't bother to read what he was signing? Really, never a good idea.

I understand that the lady is grieving and needs to place blame, but she might want to look a little closer to home.

[tmittelstaed]

I agree, it is a painful lesson but I will say that as a result of it I doubt the 24 year old son is going to ever sign one of those ARM mortgages that caught so many other people, in his future. So at least there is some good out of a bad situation.

[Lerianis4]

htn1967, they are supposed to inspect these forms AND compare these to the notes for the visit. At my local vet, they ALWAYS ask "What is X animal coming in for?" and they write that down beside the appointment time along with the animal's name.

[skithebumps]

Well, at least they killed the fleas too.