Are pets companions or property?

I say they are our responsibility. That being said the law here in the state of CT has determined that they are property. In other words my dog went in for surgery that should have added years of pain free living to his life. It did the exact opposite .In fact if he had died from some sort of negligence or mal practice during surgery ect then the hospital /doctor could say "Here's $1,000....thats the going rate for a boxer".
Mr Beebs has a bacteria living in his leg.The infection raged on for so long that scar tissue formed which is a great breeding ground for bacteria. The medicine can't reach the bacteria because there is no blood supply to scar tissue.
This started on June 6, 06. It is now January 27 2007 and the dog is still recieving two shots a day and can not be let off a leash or go on walks over 5 minutes or so.His leg will fracture because it has never been able to heal with such a massive infection.
Ironically the culture report dated June 23 2006 shows the enterobacter is present in his leg. The surgeon never read the report. Not for one second do I believe that the bacteria was contracted anywhere but that hospital.The TPLO plate was either contaiminated or some one had dirty hands, dropped it on the floor....whatever but don't try and pass the buck.
So far every vet has said "Well we can't be sure he got it from the hospital."
Oh really??? Just how does a normal healthy dog contract a super bug? Isn't it a bit of a coicidence that this all started after surgery? Hmmmmm...
"I'll watch your back" seems to be the vet standard of the day.
Baloney...he got this somewhere else. To make matters worse the sugeon called it a "niggling and pesky infection"
So Mr Beebs who has spent nine years of his life visiting nursing homes and hospitals is doomed to a life of shots and pain meds.Is that justice? What about the hundreds of elderly people who have said rosaries for him, prayed for him, sent letters to the drug compamy for him? My dog is my family he is not my property he is my responsibility.If he recieves bad treatment then I expect the doctors to ALSO take resposibility for what they have done.

What recourse do we have when our veterinarians fail

Well my nine year old Boxer Mr Beebs will never be the same again. It's heart breaking when I realize how what I intended to do (fix his leg) and what transpired are so opposite. Enterobacter is a serious bacteria in fact so serious that very few things can kill it. Today I will spend another $865.00 on a drug which he will need to be on for the rest of his life.
I asked another vet yesterday if she would sign a report saying the bacteria has caused this damage and his prognosis is thus.
"Oh I can't say anything like that" I got involved late in the game and there's no way I could say that the bacteria has caused all this"...(the good ole boys club hard at work watching each others back)
Right then and there I realized that vets like doctors cover each others backs even when they KNOW that they are wrong . I will make it my life mission to make vets as responsible for what they do to our pets lives as any MD.
I have to inject my dog every single day twice a day with Primaxine That means I can't go away on vacations, trips...or anything without hiring someone to come in that is capable of giving him an IM injection. The vet who did the surgery has changed my life and coomplicated it beyond belief. He shouldn't be allowed to write it off like an inconvenience. There is a seminar at Harvard law school this March 2007 and "Animal Law " will be the topic. I'll be there.

When animal surgery goes bad

My nine year old boxer Mr Beebs had TPLO surgery back in June of 2006. What should have been an uncomplicated procedure has become a travesty. This surgery is intended to eliminate the ligament which large breeds are so prone to breaking.(the ACL) This is done by leveling a bone in the leg which makes the need for that ligament unneccesary. However part of this procedure involves a plate and screws which are threaded into the dogs leg. They are the perfect breeeding ground for bacteria because they have no blood supply of their own.My poor dog will most likely never recover from what should have been an aid to his well being instead of a detriment. He has an enterobacter infection which is listed on the CDC web sight as a contagion.It is resistant to 99% of all anti biotics known to man. In other words he has a super bug in his leg that comes from feces. Its nine months later and $20,000. 00. I have wiped out my savings, my retired parents have gone into their fixed income and my boyfriend his retirement account. The surgeon who performed the surgery ordered a culture two weeks after surgery when puss and pink fluid was oozing out of the dogs incision. Apparantly he failed to read the culture report and kept up a treatment protocal that would never kill this bacteria. In fact had I not gone to another doctor and got another culture done it would have gone on and on until it traveled through his body and killed him. Today in Jan 2007 the infection hides in the massive scar tissue brought on by such an extended infection. The drugs can't reach it they can only prevent it from traveling.
The drug he takes which has saved his life is a human drug called Primaxine and is given as an intermuscular injection. I have given him 2-3 of these a day for nine months with no end in sight.In fact I was told today by the surgeon who removed the plate that had busted in his leg a week before Christmas that he will most likely always need the primaxine the rest of his life. Two of the screws broke off inside his bone and one was backing out on its own.Hios leg is half healed because infection inhiobits healing...so off a leash or a sudden jar and its over for Mr Beebs. By the way ...a ten day supply of this drug for a 88 pound dog is $469.00
Who's resonsible for this?Are there other pet lovers out there who have been given the "I'll cover your back, if you'll cover mine" by their veterinarians? When will the AVMA community begin treating our companions as the family members they truly are instead of property which by law is the only protection they and we get at this moment.I say enough of this. They are not tables and chairs and can not be dismissed as such.My dog has been a therapy dog for nine years and you can't put a price on that.