Help needed please

I have just got a vet bill toay 3 months of losing my staff/terrier, she just went for a biopsy on some lumps she had in her neck, after being told by the vet for months that they were just fatty lumps??????????, i called the vets @ 9.15pm and was told the procedure would soon be over, she should be able to come home soon and that the vet would call me very soon. Yes she did @ 10.00pm to tell me my dog had died and she was sorry that she could not revive her. She was only 12 and had only gone for a biopsy, but had died after a heart attack,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! had a temp of 104. They sent me a sorry card that they could not revive her and they did all they could. Can i take this further??? do i have to pay the bill????. She was gien vetergesic amps 1ml

What is it exactly that you wish to take further? Do you feel that the vet was negligent in some way? That they didn't do something they should have, or did do something they shouldn't have?

Were you under the impression that you would only have to pay for treatment if it was successful?

Unfortunately dogs do die under anaesthetic, just like people do. Usually there's no way of knowing this until it happens and if the vets tried to revive your dog but couldn't I don't honestly see what else they could do.

Legally, there's a fair chance the surgery has bigger pockets than you do and if you refuse to pay you may well find yourself being dragged through the civil courts for the outstanding payment. The vets have been kind enough not to ask for the money for 3 months. Bear in mind they could have insisted that you paid in full, at the time.

I think, tbh, if you had an issue with them or their treatment ofd your dog, you should have taken it up with them at the time; not waited until they asked for payment.

As above I'm not sure what the issue is exactly -

But I have had to pay for surgery for animals when they died on the table - it's happened twice - one time they did only charge for the anaesthetic but the second time the surgery was complete when the animal died so I paid the 'normal' rate even though I took my pet home to bury it.

Am sorry for your loss xx

So sorry for your sad loss, but I agree with the above post. You will have signed a consent form accepting that with any anaesthetic/surgical procedure there is an element of risk - even when the worst happens, the bill still needs to be paid.

Hello Kim , welcome to Dogsey.
I am sorry to hear your lost your little dog due to such unfortunate circumstances .

As the others say all surgery always carries an element of risk. I too lost a dog during an operation and had to pay the bill in full.
Although this came as an added blow at the time, looking at things logically I can now appreciate the vet gave his time, expertise and facilities to operate on my dog and it was not unreasonable to expect me to pay for this irrespective of the sad outcome.

6 yrs ago i nearly lost my dog due to her having such a bad reaction to Vetergesic a few hours after being given it. I had a very expensive overnight emergency vets bill but it wasn't my vets fault it was just one of those things nobody was to know.