petPost.org :: Dogs

My 8 yr. old German shepherd died on Monday, January 19, 2009 from overdose of anesthesia. I purchased him at age 3 for protection. I would never again allow any future dog I may own to go under anesthesia for teeth cleaning. My dog had his teeth cleaned with this same vet before. Fargo had all the pre-blood work that morning and last week when we took him in for consultation our vet commented his heartbeat was slow, although he was excited showing he was in great heart health. Here is the story the vet told us. He gave him the minimal amount of pre-meds and since he was not groggy enough, he put the mask on him for a few seconds. Immediately, he saw his chest pound once, then his heart stopped, this happened again, then he went into cardiac arrest-meaning his heart rate accelerated, then stopped for good. He then gave Fargo epinephrine and some other injection into his iv. He did this again, as there was no response. He then did palpitations working on him for a total of 20 minutes. He was gone. I am heartbroken and angry with the vet and will never put another pet through that at such great risk of death. There are alternatives to surgery that I am now aware of just by doing a couple searches on the internet. I only wish I would have known of them prior to this. The number of dogs dying from overdose of anesthesia is 1 in 400 and can be as high as 1 in 200. For all of you who were 'lucky' enough your dog survived anesthesia, I would hope alternatives to anesthesia for teeth cleaning are something you would look into. Good oral health is extremely important. As for me, as I stated earlier, I will never put any future dog I may own at such high risk of death for teeth cleaning. Anesthesia= Life or Death for dogs and nothing else. I am trying to warn as many people as I can, so you may see my post on other sites. Thank you for taking time to read my story as I continue to grieve losing my absolute best friend.

Having just read your post regarding the death of your dog due to the anesthesia used for teeth cleaning, I would offer this suggestion for your next dog...purchase a Sonicare Flex toothbrush and use it regularly (2Xs weekly). Unlike earlier generations of the Sonicare brushes, it has very little vibration or noise when in use. We have successfully used one on our 2 Irish terriers. Because we started our first IT at 9 weeks on this regimen, I would say it was an immediate success. We had to work harder at introducing this manner of oral care to our 2nd IT as he was 5 1/2 months when he came to us from the breeder. Patience and perseverance paid off. The price of a Sonicare Flex brush might be considered an "investment", but it is well worth it for any dog owner in the long run. Shop around for the lowest price or see if your dentist has a lower price for patients or a $ off coupon for this item.

Ann RDH

Ann, Thank you so much for the information on avoiding anesthesia. I really appreciate it.
I did a few searches and found some things and will be doing more, so your suggestion adds to my list and I am so glad you posted that for me, as I will have to purchase another German Shepherd for protection in the near future. Thanks again. Sincerely, Sharon

Thanks for the information from both of you. Crazy stuff.

wow... crazy story!

Good lesson! I've always just fed my dog those green bones. They seem to do a really good job with the teeth!