Heartbreak of OAP who signed dog’s life away by accident
GREAT-grandmother Linda Winson was devoted to her pet dog Bella.
The 76-year- old had raised the Pomeranian since buying her as a puppy seven years ago and the animal was her only companion at home.
But Mrs Winson has been left heartbroken after she took the poorly pet to a vets for an assessment – and unwittingly signed Bella’s death warrant.
The pensioner and her granddaughter Jade Winson, who drove her to the surgery, only discovered the dog was being euthanised when they asked when they could return to collect Bella and were told: ‘Her ashes will be ready for collection tomorrow.’
Relatives yesterday said the ‘timid’ pensioner had been left
‘Didn’t know it was a death warrant’
‘distraught’ by the loss. Mrs Winson had taken Bella to Jamieson Veterinary Services because she was shaky on her legs and slightly breathless.
Her son, Ray, 50, said: ‘As soon as they got there they ushered her into the examination room. Mum was then asked if she had signed the paperwork. She signed it without knowing that it was the dog’s death warrant.’
Miss Winson, 23, has now written a letter of complaint to the practice over the incident in her grandmother’s home town of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, last month.
Discussing the moment when the vet began talking about the dog’s ashes, she said: ‘I asked the vet what she had done. She went crazy. She started hitting her hands on the table and the wall. She was really angry.
‘She didn’t speak very good English. I believe that has played a role in this mistake unfolding. The dog was only seven, she had been poorly for a few days but was not in a state where she needed to be immediately put down.’
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ code of conduct states that informed consent is an ‘essential part of any contract’ which ‘can only be given by a client who has had the opportunity to consider a range of reasonable treatment options, with associated fee estimates, and had the significance and main risks explained to them’. But the Winsons say that at no time was the procedure explained to them.
The practice’s manager Christine Jamieson said she was sorry the ‘lady had lost her dog’ but added: ‘Our policy is never to put an animal to sleep unless the owner has signed a consent form. They had time to read the form, it’s very simple.’