Hello Mike
First of all let me say how very sorry I am for the loss of your family member. It is always very difficult to lose our furry friends, especially when we have no idea why. It would be so much simplier if they could just tell us how they feel or what hurts but all too often we simply have to go on our own instincts that there is a problem.
To try and answer some of your questions we need to look at several things. The first of course is the temperature swing between 3 pm and 7:20 pm. When a dog is administered IV fluids given at room temperature it is well documented that his body temperature will drop slightly which I believe is why when his temp was taken after 3 is was slightly lower than normal (99.6 to 102.6). The temp of 98 degrees was a normal reaction to the IV so I do not understand why they felt like thermal support was necessary. His body should have readjusted itself before the end of the first bag of IV fluids. By looking at the records you can see where his normal body reaction combined with thermal support brought his temp back into the normal range quickly but that is where things begin to go wrong. A dog on thermal support should never have been left unmonitored for over two hours. It raised the body temperature too high too fast. Even if he had been able to physically recover from a temperature that high it is very likely that he would have had severe brain damage as a result. He would have never been the same dog you have known. It took almost two hours to cool him back down into the normal range again and the drastic temperature changes are more likely than not what caused him to arrest. While it is obvious that there was an underlying issue which caused his illness in the first place it is also clear to someone on the outside that there are some serious questions here regarding the way the hospital proceeded with this. Without a necropsy (animal autopsy) preformed by an outside service you probably will never know what actually caused this terrible tragedy but in looking at the information you have provided here I can tell you I have questions regarding the way they handled his care. I am not saying that this could have been avoided because the underlying cause is unknown but I do not believe the hospital handled this in the way they should have. For a pet to come in in critical condition and then to be left unmonitored for two hours raises serious questions regarding the level of care provided in this facility in my mind. If you are committed to folowing up on this there are several things I can reccommend. The first thing is to have copies made of ALL your pups medical records, both from your regular vet and from the hospital. They are required by law to provide you with a copy of his entire medical record including all tests, xrays and blood work done. I would then schedule an appointment with a different vet to have the records reviewed and see if possibly the new vet sees any inconsistencies. He (or she) may be able to shed some new light on what could have caused this terrible tragedy. If he does, indeed, find problems with what he sees in the records then you have at least one recourse. It will not bring your family member back but it should still be reported. I am sending a link to a site which can help you with that should you decide to persue that course of action. They are terrific people and can answer any question you might have regarding the process of veterinary malpractice.
http://www.aldf.org/packets.asp?sect=resources
http://www.nabr.org/AnimalLaw/VetMalpractice/
Nothing can bring your furry family member back to you but I hope that you can find closure and peace with this in the future. Again, I am very sorry for your loss. If you have any questions about this or need further assistance I am more than happy to help.
I am also sending a link to a site I would like you to look at that might give you some peace about this. Please look at it.
http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm__________________
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