Sarnia woman launches petition for after hours vet care after dog dies
A Sarnia, Ont. woman whose dog died in her arms is calling on local veterinarians to establish after hours vet care.
Marg Allen has launched a petition, hoping vets will get on board.
It follows an experience she had last month when it was time to say goodbye to her beloved Shih Tzu Bernie, who was 15-years-old.
It was after 5 p.m. on a weekday and her own vet clinic was closed. She found out the closest vet care was in Mississauga, nearly three hours away.
She decided she would try to make it through the night with Bernie, but it didn’t work out.
“About eight o’clock, just everything, started stroking, and seizures, it was horrendous until about three in the morning” she explained. “So I held him through that time and his heart just finally gave out.”
She has reached out to more than two dozen vets in the area and circulated her petition to local pet services.
Gabby Robbins, the owner of Clean Cut K9 Dog and Cat Grooming said she supports the effort.
“So what are we going to do next with our pets here in Sarnia?” she asked. “I just went through it a couple weeks ago with my cat. Unfortunately I couldn’t get it in in time and she passed away at my house too, with no after hours or anything like that. I called everybody, and everybody said no.”
One veterinarian in the area who does provide after hours care told CTV News London he’s been overwhelmed with pet owners looking for help.
Dr. Vason Barot of Discovery Animal Hospital in Petrolia, Ont. said he finds himself administering pet care outside of his regular clinic hours just about every day.
“All day, including weekends,” he said.
Barot said he’d like it if other vets took on some of the burden, but he understands why it’s difficult for some.
“Working from morning to evening. After work it’s sometimes hard because they have their own personal lives too,” he said. “If we can make a group, and turn by turn and everybody try to provide help to the community.”
In the meantime, Allen said she’s hoping local vets step up, so others don’t have to experience the same pain that she went through with Bernie.
“And come up with a local model that works for our community, a community-based model so we’re not off to these other locations,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.