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Vet accidentally gave wrong vaccination, what would you do?

11K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  lokitor 
#1 ·
OK, the title sounds more sinister than what happened, but I couldn't think of better verbage.

I took Keeper to the vet for his parvo booster. I called and asked for him to be given just the parvo/distemper instead of the 4-in-1 for this last shot, so that was in his notes. I go to the vet, they come get him out of the car, and I wait. The vet checked him over and then called me to confirm that yes, I only wanted the parvo/distemper, she said she was going to give that to him, then the admin would call me for payment, etc etc. So I get the next call from admin, it'll be $100, I give her my payment info and wait for keeper to be brought out.

The vet tech brought him out and handed him to me with "now, we need to talk about this". My mind immediately flew to..did Keeper bite them? .. the vet tech says that when she went to grab the vaccine from the fridge, she accidentally grabbed the 4-in-1 and that was what Keeper got. They did not charge me for the vaccine, so they only charged me $65. I told her that I appreciated her letting me know about the mistake (I would have known anyways, as they put the sticker from the vial on the vaccine certificate), and for not charging me for the vaccine.

Then I started driving home and realized...this means that the vet did not double check what she was injecting into my dog. In fact, because they told me it was $100 and then realized they dropped the price AFTER they told me what it was going to be - which means they didn't realize it until they were getting the paperwork together with the certificate. What would have happened if the vet tech was looking at one vaccine, but grabbed a vial for something completely different and he got something completely different that could have adverse effects? (Or what if it happens to someone else?)

I *do* appreciate the vet tech owning up to her mistake AND to the discount. But I cannot believe that the vet didn't double check the label. Though maybe she was on autopilot and saw that it was what they normally give. But we had JUST talked on the phone minutes before. It should have been fresh in her mind.

.. Now, keep in mind this is ontop of them having already had Keeper's birthdate wrong even though I gave them the information twice on his first intake (I saw it was wrong on his first certificate and they did fix it). But how does one type in "19th" when they had it infront of them in two places that it was the "24th"? So it seems like lack of attention COULD be a thing at this clinic?

This is a new vet I was trying out because they are more raw friendly, and open to titres where my normal vet prefers to sell her Hills brand food and do regular vaccinations. She is OK with me titring, but because of how she said it, I'm not confident she'll read the titres correctly. This new vet has SO many good reviews, but mostly about the owner of the clinic. The vet I've been seeing is not the owner. I also know that it's covid time and things aren't running as smoothly as normal.

But... is my being upset overreacting to the situation? I am most likely not going to return there for Keeper again, am I "justified" by that? (I know, we are free to change vets and get second opinions and all that, but I'm just wondering if I'm going overboard with my thoughts here).
 
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#2 ·
As a raw feeder myself, I can understand the importance of having a vet that supports raw feeding. Otherwise, there is the fear that they are going to first blame the raw diet for issues vs getting to root cause. This is very aggravating and I have seen this first hand. It is ironic that the vets who sell kibble rarely look at diet first and often the solution is to give different “prescription” kibble to fix the issue.

However, IMO a vet’s accuracy and attention to detail are much more important. Here is a non-pressure situation where they made two mistakes. I know we are all human but I could not forgive this myself. What happens when you have an emergency or high pressure situation with your dog?

Are there any other advantages to this vet in addition to the raw feeding? Do they provide services such as chiropractic, acupuncture or laser therapy for example? What about the other vet? When they do anesthesia, do they have a qualified and dedicated person monitoring it? I ask this because Mia recently had a dental cleaning and there was an anesthesia issue. Luckily the vet was on top of it.

Is your concern about titer reading that the kibble feeding vet will advise vaccines for a lower titer level than the other vet? Can you just skip the vaccines based upon your opinion of the titer level?

Are there any other vets in your area to consider?

Good luck with your decision!
 
#3 ·
Those are good questions.
I agree with the lack of detail, that is definitely my concern.

The biggest issue is exactly what you have outlined with my previous vet (the kibble vet). Trying to tell me that issues are based on diet, when they may not be. And that she would tell me to vaccinate when numbers are at a level that they need not be. I'm not sure if she would provide me with a report as they do the titres in house. I guess that's a question I need to ask.

The kibble vet was GREAT with our past reactive wheatie and does promote things like fear-free visits, does laser therapy, acupuncture, advertises that they do holistic (though I've never seen that side of it). She is also one who when presented with something that needs to be taken care of... will give you options and let you decide without judgement which route you go. She is also not above getting second opinions when it's something she isn't sure of. In those ways, she is phenomenal. She also kept insisting I neuter Denver at a younger age than I did (she wanted me to do it at 6 months, but I held firm on waiting til he was a year). So there are some "old school" thoughts there too.

There are other vets in my area, but this one that I tried was SO highly recommended as THE raw feeder vet in the city. So, I am hesitant at this point to keep looking.
 
#4 ·
I’d be more concerned about the mishap. Two of them. Something in an emergency situation could go wrong. With feeding, well as the owner, that’s your choice. Same with titers (I think there might be a legal issue with rabies, but idk). I tend to think of vets like I do pediatricians. I breastfeed long term. Some drs push formula supplementation. I just ignore it. I don’t choose to circumcise. Neither of these things are the dr’s business. They aren’t nutritionists. They have bias from decisions they may have made w their own kids. Those are PARENTING decisions vs medical.

But if my kid is SICK, they need to be trusted to handle that. If they need meds, I need them to get it right. If god forbid there is an emergency, they need to not inject the wrong thing. (And yes I believe in fully vaccinating kids, but that’s a bit different than dogs, where they’ve been legitimately over-vaccinating so we’ll keep that issue out of my analogy lol).

Now, if there’s a perfect vet out there and you don’t need to choose either/ or go with that one!
 
#5 ·
I'd be more concerned about the mishap. Two of them. Something in an emergency situation could go wrong. With feeding, well as the owner, that's your choice. Same with titers (I think there might be a legal issue with rabies, but idk). I tend to think of vets like I do pediatricians. I breastfeed long term. Some drs push formula supplementation. I just ignore it. I don't choose to circumcise. Neither of these things are the dr's business. They aren't nutritionists. They have bias from decisions they may have made w their own kids. Those are PARENTING decisions vs medical.

But if my kid is SICK, they need to be trusted to handle that. If they need meds, I need them to get it right. If god forbid there is an emergency, they need to not inject the wrong thing. (And yes I believe in fully vaccinating kids, but that's a bit different than dogs, where they've been legitimately over-vaccinating so we'll keep that issue out of my analogy lol).

Now, if there's a perfect vet out there and you don't need to choose either/ or go with that one!
Good points here. A lot of decisions are OURS to make, not the vet. I have ignored vet advice on numerous occasions, especially regarding diet. I also ignore their advice on flea/ tick preventatives. My dogs have probably had a 1000 ticks on them in their lifetime. They are super healthy at 11 and 12. Also, ANY titer level is enough to keep me from vaccinating my dog. However, if a vet starts blaming things on a raw diet it can be super aggravating. So I can definitely understand this concern. For example, if a puppy ingests something bad and gets sick, I do not want to listen to a vet telling me the diet I am feeding my dog is making them sick. But this has happened to me.
 
#6 · (Edited)
That's what my breeder stated too - that any numbers on the titres are good enough, but I haven't done the research myself. My vet made a comment about numbers usually being low enough that annual vaccines are needed anyways.. which is why I wasn't sure she would interpret it "correctly" since it's not something they normally do. Though, I would research all that myself before I need to worry about it (which is soon, actually.. Denver's annual visit is in October..so I have a few months to bone up on it).

Melissa, you are right bout the low stress visit and having mishaps and high stress ones. Do I trust this vet anymore? No. So we definitely will not be returning.

I looked last night and found a holistic vet that I may try. The vet graduated in Beijing and then also took chinese medicine and does a mix of traditional and holistic practices. May be worth my checking him out! https://calgaryholisticvet.com/
 
#7 ·
I think that there are many opinions on what titer levels are necessary. I had a holistic vet who was very aware of over vaccination dangers. One of my yorkie's titers came up to what she considered to be low. She said we may need to think about boostering. I said no thanks. Have not done any titers since. Again, everyone is entitled to their own opinions so no hater comments please.
 
#11 ·
I’m feeling much better about my decision to “fire” this vet and as they ask for google reviews, I will most likely be doing that. Because while Keeper won’t suffer for it, it could happen to someone else, it could be a total different vaccine grabbed by mistake with large ramifications.

Thanks Karen about the information on titres. I will definitely be doing more reading of my own on the subject because I do want to be informed first hand so I can have those conversations on my own merit.

I reached out to my breeder and she’s going to give me the name of a vet she talked to at a conference, and go from there.
 
#12 ·
I'm feeling much better about my decision to "fire" this vet and as they ask for google reviews, I will most likely be doing that. Because while Keeper won't suffer for it, it could happen to someone else, it could be a total different vaccine grabbed by mistake with large ramifications.

Thanks Karen about the information on titres. I will definitely be doing more reading of my own on the subject because I do want to be informed first hand so I can have those conversations on my own merit.

I reached out to my breeder and she's going to give me the name of a vet she talked to at a conference, and go from there.
The more I think about them telling you "they didn't charge you", the more steamed I get! They shouldn't have charged you for the entire visit, IMO!
 
#14 ·
In principle, I 100% agree to move on. The example that comes to my mind is the same as Karen, what if it had been allergy related? My only concern is what would be your alternative? If he needs his next shot really soon, that doesn’t give you a lot of time. I might consider working with the office to be present during the next shot to give you more time to look for a new vet.

I would have a really hard time leaving my Havanese in the midst of COVID when owners aren’t allowed in the room. I am and avoiding taking mine to the vet unless necessary until this passes. But, that’s really not possible with timed immunizations. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is really important that people protect themselves and others and I believe the health threat is serious, but I also believe one pet parent should be accompanying the pet into the office. This would NEVER happen in any kind of medical facility involving children, there wouldn’t even be a question about a parent being present to make sure important information is communicated, supervise treatment, etc. The idea that a pet parent isn’t necessary to communicate for an animal that is vulnerable and can’t communicate for themselves is kind of insane to me. I understood in the beginning, when vet offices were trying to provide treatment and protect everyone in an emergency situation where we had very little information. But, this is not going away any time soon, and they need to find ways to protect everyone while making sure the parent is in the room. I get that it’s harder to do with pets, particularly transferring the pet from the owner to another person, but we’ve had time now to be creative. Right now when I take DS for his infusions at the hospital we go through 3 separate screenings to get to his treatment room. Everyone is wearing a mask and gloves, they having cleaning protocols, no siblings or extra adults are allowed, and we don’t go to any waiting rooms. There are ways to keep everyone safe, and I feel like we’ve reached the point where it’s become easier to just have parents wait in the car.

That being said, my personal experiences with DS is that even the best doctors make mistakes. Our best healthcare teams know this and have precautions in place to prevent these things from happening, like two people double checking every IV and injection (including immunizations). This is protocol at the hospital. They don’t have any problem with questions to verify or clarify from parents.
 
#17 ·
That being said, my personal experiences with DS is that even the best doctors make mistakes. Our best healthcare teams know this and have precautions in place to prevent these things from happening, like two people double checking every IV and injection (including immunizations). This is protocol at the hospital. They don't have any problem with questions to verify or clarify from parents.
Mistakes do happen because it's not a perfect world, but there is always a reason. It's because someone is in a hurry, overwhelmed, omitting the proper checks or poor communication of an order. There are the five right of administering medications so errors cannot happen if followed. In a hospital situation it is extremely busy with multiple things happening all at once. Although the vet may have been busy this was just one vaccine to be given.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I would not return to this vet because of their lack of attention to your request and Keeper. Did the vet or tech give the vaccine? They first chose the wrong vaccine which should have been caught before administering. Then they didn't recheck what was too be given, the correct pet and dose before administering. I'm surprised you were charged anything for the visit. The vet should have been the person to inform you that Keeper did not receive the correct vaccine. I really don't like that.
 
#16 ·
Actually, here, kids did go into hospitals, etc without parents. because our protocols in Alberta are very strict. They are just now allowed to have one parent in with them. And believe me, if it were routine checkups, I wouldn’t have done it. But, these are puppy vaccinations and need to be done. He goes to daycare, etc., and he needs the immunity.

Heather - the tech got the vaccine, the vet gave it. So it was a failure of checks.
 
#21 ·
Actually, here, kids did go into hospitals, etc without parents. because our protocols in Alberta are very strict. They are just now allowed to have one parent in with them. And believe me, if it were routine checkups, I wouldn't have done it. But, these are puppy vaccinations and need to be done. He goes to daycare, etc., and he needs the immunity.

Heather - the tech got the vaccine, the vet gave it. So it was a failure of checks.
Where I'm located I think they opted to close all non essential pediatric services rather than send children in without parents. But we've been in for specialty clinics, the emergency room, and other treatments. I can't believe they'd have a kid go into the emergency room or have an IV placed without a parent! Or even get immunizations alone. Even my 13 year old, who is really independent and wants to do everything alone, is not ready for an immunization by herself.

Although, when I think about it, DD goes in to the orthodontist and that kind of thing on her own. But they just barely opened. DS can't even remember all of his medications yet, although he can verify them if someone reads them to him. I mean, I would love for my kids to have some medical independence before they go to college, but we are not there yet! I can't imagine a pet needing medical privacy, though.

There's not much to do if the offices are limits by local guidelines, and there are advantages to strict guidelines for sure. It just seems like there have been of few of these cases lately, of mistakes in vet offices. Maybe this one wouldn't have been prevented with a parent/owner present. It just seems like finding creative ways to use plexiglass, or of handing off a puppy to a neutral area, might be safer overall. I hope we get there soon!
 
#24 ·
I think you are right to change vets. It sounds like there are at least 2 that are unable to do their job safely.
One of my neighbors is a vet very close by. When he opened his practice, I decided to try him. My dog needed a dental cleaning. He got sick after the cleaning. I always wonder if something they did caused his illness. Coughing, choking then vomitting. It was bad for months. He had been sedated twice before without issue.
I kept going to this vet and three times, they made mistakes with medications. Careless mistakes. Once the vet tech chased me down in the parking lot saying that she gave me the wrong thing. Another time, I noticed it was wrong before I gave it. Third time is a long story but no actual harm was done to the dog wth these mistakes.
I should have left sooner. You will not trust these people. Your dogs' health is too important.
 
#32 ·
Yes, the problem with vaccinosis is that dogs have “no problems” until they “have problems”. And then you are in for a world of hurt. It’s very similar to the problem with grapes. Many dogs ate grapes for years and never had a single problem. Now EVERYONE avoids grapes like they are deathly poison. Many dogs would STILL be fine if they ate grapes, but we avoid them with all dogs because we can. But vets (at least a lot of them) do not warn about the POTENTIAL problems of vaccinosis or problems from flea and tick chemicals with SOME (not all) dogs. Yes, many of these things are “generally safe”. But they aren’t ALWAYS safe, and if your dog is one of the ones that has a problem... it can be bad.

And we KNOW that Havanese are a chemically sensitive breed, so it pays to be as careful as we can.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Of course, there may be two points of view in this situation. The veterinarian could be tired, think about something, and accidentally could put another vaccine. Every specialist is capable of making a mistake, and you never know if you will become a victim of this situation. It only matters how you feel about it. If you are tired of this attitude from the clinic staff, you should look for another medical institution. If everything suits you and you forgive them for the first time, you can ignore it. When I first started studying for an online groomer course, I was also dissatisfied with the quality of teaching. However, I understood the learning process over time, and everything became fine. By the way, everyone can learn this craft. There are no student loans for these programs, so you will have to pay the entire amount. Have there been any more unpleasant situations in this clinic?
 
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