Madam,

I feel compelled to write in support of a colleague identified in your article last week “Pup dies after wrongly getting lethal injection”.

I sympathise with the owners of the puppy, no doubt devastated by their loss. Of course it is hard to bear that this was an accidental death, during a treatment that the vet fully intended would improve the pup’s well-being.

The important thing to remember here is that there was no malice, and that the death was wholly accidental. Further, the vet involved did have a hard time dealing with the incident. None of us intend to make a mistake, and it falls hard upon us when we do. I say “when” we do, because there is not a professional person out there who has not, at some point or other, made a mistake. We are human. The vet in this case was completely open and frank with the owners and wrote a beautiful letter of condolence that demonstrated her own heartbreak. This is the correct approach.

Our profession comprises excellent members who have very high expectations of themselves, and suffer from a disproportionate degree of mental anguish (our suicide rate is one of the highest of any profession, for example), no doubt contributed to by the expectation that we should never get anything wrong.

Yours etc,

Dr Kate O’Sullivan MVB MSc CertSAS MRCVS, Ystwyth Vet Practice, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth.

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