Pet teeth cleaning with anesthesia (Warning)

I know so many of you have dogs, and I want to warn you about the dangers of the use of Anesthesia to clean the dogs teeth. If I had known 1 in 200 dogs die from this so called simple procedure, I would never have had it done. Yes I said 1 in 200.
We dropped our very healthy 8 year old Jack Russell Terrier "Jake" for a routine dental cleaning at 8 am yesterday. At 1 pm I got a call that I thought would be the call to pick him up. (I wanted to get him home before the Blizzard really got going). Instead, I got a call I never thought possible. The vet told me she had some bad news. I just figured the next words would be that he needed some teeth removed. Instead she said that there was a problem with the anesthesia and he went into cardiac arrest, and died. I dropped to my knees pounding the floor and screaming NO! I am not sure how long I was there. My wife called shortly after to ask me if Jake was ready to come home, she would take the trip with me, that she was getting out of work early. I should have gotten an Oscar for my performance on the phone, as I did not want my wife driving home in a snow storm with that on her mind. I told her he was fine. Once I told her, I realized she would never would have made it out of the parking lot, let alone have made it home. There was nothing wrong with him, and now he is gone after a procedure that is supposed to keep him healthy. We knew eventually he would get old, and pass on. But we were prepared for that. But this just sucks. 1-200 and no info giving us the risks by the vet? He was like a child for my wife and I. We now mourn his loss, and nothing else matters.
We are just devastated. But if I can get the word out, and help save some body's dog from this, at least he did not die for nothing.

This is a good link, but there are plenty of info about this on the interwebs.
https://www.petzlife.com/resources/anesthesia-risk.php

Man I am so sorry.......our dogs are part of our souls. He will always love you......even in death.

Hey man I am so sorry bud. No words can say anything to make you feel any better, but we are thinking of you. [-o< [-o< [-o<

That really sucks - I am so sorry for your loss


I have heard of this and those odds - start brushing when they are a puppy and you can train the dog to at least tolerate the cleaning

Plus, keep those doggy teeth clean can also keep that doggie healthy

Toy boat I am sorry for your loss of you family member, and also feel your pain. We lost our Pomeranian Angel a while back, she was about 16 years young. We now have two little pomeranian pups to fill our hearts, but it just aint the same. You can always get another dog but a friend can never be replaced. Thanks for the heads up about the cleanings maybe it will help save someones baby. sorry again

Sorry for your loss.

My GF lost a cat during the same procedure many years ago.

so sorry....hope you heal with time.

I have Labs, I don't have children, but my Labs are my family. I am on my 4th and 5th members and they are very well spoiled. These two are 5yr and 3yr and always playfull and ready to go. My others lived a long time, all over 10yr to 16yr. It is hard to see them pass but at least they had people that took care of them. I am sorry for your loss and hope you have it in your heart to help another potential family member.

P.S. I have never had their teeth cleaned. They get too many chew treats!!!

Sorry for your loss. My dogs are my life. I had a Jack Russel named Ralph when I was a kid, he ran away and never came home but the short time I had him he was one of the best dogs ever. Again sorry for your loss.

Does anyone know if this is just for the dental cleaning or for any anesthesia?

Sorry for your loss - I know the joy and love a dog brings to your life and how much you miss it when they are gone.

What a very sad posting. I'm so sorry to hear this, but I totally understand what you're going through. I still morn the loss of my pup that we lost last fall. They mean as much to us as we do to them. My prayers are with you both. [-o< [-o<

I'm so sorry.
My GF rescued a rat terrier, the vet the rescue group uses seemed ok until the dog had an infection in his snout. After 3 courses of antibiotics they decided her was going to need x-rays to see what's going on, he was probably going to have to have a tooth pulled. The day I brought him in for the x-ray / treatment and as long as he was going to be put out a teeth cleaning. Well I get a call that he's all done. I get there to pick him up and I ask what the issue was with the infection the staff look at like the don't know what I'm talking about it turns out all they did was the teeth cleaning. Now the have to put the little dog out a second time not even 2 hours from the last time. He did have to have a tooth pulled. The next day my GF picked up the dogs records and took them to the vet her other dog goes too.

Toy Boat,

Brother, I just shed a tear for Jake and your family. Dogs aren't children but darned close. JRT's are a uniquely special breed. I'm not all that sensitive and almost never call anyone "brother", but I truly understand.

My Coltrane looked a lot like your Jake and we had gone through a whole heck of a lot together when he passed at 16 almost two years ago. He was a smooth coat Parson Russell Terrier and I always wanted to get him a broken coat JRT little brother like Jake.

I have his ID on my keychain and my screensaver is a pic of him in my livewell proudly showing me the catfish he caught.

Thanks for the heads up on anasthesia for everyone else. I had to put my boy to sleep in his last days to ease his pain and it was just horrible.

So sorry man. At least he didn't suffer before his passing. They are awesome little men.

I just looked at the clock. It has been one week to the minute since I last saw my little friend alive and well. Monday we went to the vets for answers. Our vet was in tears and very sorry. So bad she had hives on her neck, and cried with us. She asked if it would be ok to send Jake to UNH for a full necropsy. We of course said yes. It may be the only way to put some meaning to his death if they find something that may save other animals. She would be taking care of his final arrangements.
I was not looking for condolences when I posted this. We could not get any info from the vets since it was closed due to the storm, we were stunned, hurt and upset. It just seemed the only control I had was to get the word out about the dangers. The info I wish I had a week ago.
The preliminary report from UNH shows nothing abnormal, and that he was in perfect health. We are still waiting on the toxicology report.
I never thought we would have become so attached as we have. But a week later, we still cry and talk about Jake. We tried to protect him by taking him to the vets for preventative care, and that is what seemed to have taken him. He was such a bright light in our lives, and now he is just gone. Neither one of us wants to even come home anymore. It is so quiet without him. It is unfair, and it sucks!

Jake was a small dog with a big dog spirit. He did not suffer from little dog syndrome. He was a big dog. He was brave, and fearless, yet smart. He was loving, yet protective. He was arrogant, and stubborn, and he could be a real dink. He loved us, and we loved him.
He was our child, and our friend, and we will miss him.

Thank you to everyone for your kind words.

TB, I can feel exactly what you're going through and I hurt with you. I lost Bailey (Lab) almost 7 years ago but there's not a day that goes by without me thinking of her and smiling.
The vet should have warned you about the dangers and left the educated choice to your decision, not explaining the danger is a short coming on their part. We recently had our "new" pound puppy (Lucy) spayed and the warnings that our vet gave us did make us uneasy but in the end it turned out okay for her.
Google "Rainbow Bridge" and know that Jake awaits......

I recently found your post online. The very same thing just happened to my dog. This is breaking my heart.

On 10/13/13 my husband and I took our very healthy, amazing and beloved 6 year old Jack Russell Terrier Pele to a K9 center for a non-anesthetic dental cleaning with a veterinarian from a local animal hospital. The procedure could not be performed because Pele had some signs of gum disease and a couple of loose rotten teeth required extraction. We talked this over with the veterinarian who recommended we have this work performed by a veterinarian who can take dental x-rays to ensure nothing else was wrong. We expressed our concern with having to use anesthesia during the procedure. The veterinarian ensured us it was totally safe, never lost a dog under their care and that people need to stop worrying about it because anesthesia is much safer these days compared to 10 years ago. After calling a couple of veterinarians who could not take dental x-rays, we decided to have this specific veterinarian perform the procedure at their animal hospital. The veterinarian was very confident that our Pele would be absolutely fine and the dental work would make her feel much better.

On 10/28/13 Pele died under the care of this veterinarian. I received a phone call from the veterinarian stating that Pele was doing great but needed a few extra teeth removed and they will call us back soon with a pick-up time. I instructed the veterinarian to remove the extra teeth because we want Pele to be healthy and happy. About an hour later my husband answered the phone and was told Pele woke up, but unfortunately suffered cardiac arrest and they were performing CPR. The veterinarian then called back to say sorry and had no idea why Pele suffered a heart attack and died. The pre-op blood work and post-op heart x-rays were normal. 2-3 of these procedures are performed daily at their hospital without incident like this. One thing that could have happened during breathing tube removal; Pele’s tongue fell back which interrupted her breathing for a second, causing her to panic.

We had to rush back to the animal hospital to say our goodbyes. Before the veterinarian brought Pele out to see us, it was made clear that they were not responsible for the heart attack and that they are keeping our $500.00 deposit because Pele died after the dental work was performed. Then on our way out we were told by the front desk staff that we owed an additional $131.50 for the procedure. They also had a sign hanging up that stated anesthesia is low risk. We were under so much distress we paid and went home to mourn.

On 10/30/13 I returned an email to the veterinarian and expressed my concern as to why we had to pay for our deceased Pele. We also have to pay for the cremation and urn. So almost a $1000.00 to have our deceased Pele returned to us.

On 11/01/13 the veterinarian phoned me to express sympathy along with reasons as to why we are responsible for payment and that dental work is a very low risk procedure. Also indicated several things including death from dental work is very rare; however higher in other parts of the world, they spent a lot of time and effort trying to save Pele so we are responsible for payment, hopeful that we will not be discouraged in the future to have this performed on another dog, gave us a break in payment because they did not charge for life saving efforts and so on. Very disturbing, so I told the veterinarian to call me when Pele is ready for pick-up and then ended the phone call. I just feel as though kind gestures, honesty and taking responsibility are a thing of the past.

After conducting some research and speaking with fellow pet lovers, I believe Pele died due to neglect. Pele was given too much anesthesia, left under too long and/or she was left unsupervised while waking up, so her tongue fell back into her throat and she chocked to death. She was a super fit and healthy dog, so this procedure should not have caused a heart attack. I believe the vet is responsible for her death and did her best to cover it up. I recently filed a complaint with our state Veterinary Medical Board. Hopefully they can find some answers.

Our hearts are broken and we miss our little Pele girl so much. Our lives will never be the same without that little Jack Russell firecracker. We love you pretty Pele girl and we are very sorry this happened to you. We know you crossed the rainbow bridge and are running and playing with your pet friends. xo xo

Sorry for your loss. I dated a girl with a one eyed dog. She was not much better looking but that's a different story. She said it developed an infection after teeth cleaning and it spread to the little fellows eye. The vet tells you that most dogs die because of tooth decay that gets in the blood so I just give my dog hard dog bones that help clean the teeth from now on. RIP.

I will never go do this again. I took both my dogs in a little over a year ago for this. Both of them survived but I was not made aware of this 1 in 200 and in the end their tooth got gunked back up in no time. Complete waste of time, money and in some cases a dogs life.