Veterinarian guilty of "disgraceful conduct" for not euthanising a cat on request

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is a rather disturbing and at the same time interesting story. I think, my sympathies lie with the veterinarian and not with the adjudicating panel who found her guilty of 'disgraceful conduct'.

The vet's name is Dr. Janine Parody. She was employed as a veterinary clinic and was described as an excellent veterinarian. She had 10 years experience at the time.

Dr. Janine Parody. Image: Facebook.

A woman involved in cat rescue it seems came to the veterinary clinic where she worked and asked Dr. Parody to euthanise a youngish male cat (8-months old) named Shadow who had an MRSA infection, was thin and had facial injuries. It appears that the cat was a street cat and had been injured and contracted the infection while leading a very difficult life.

The cat rescuer arranged for Dr. Parody to euthanise shallow on December 20, 2021.

At the time Dr. Parody was stressed and had euthanised a few cats that day already. She made the point, as other veterinarians have made, that euthanising pets is stressful and it leaves its mark. She said that you tend to take euthanasia home with you.

It was during the Covid-19 pandemic and these factors put together drove her to disregard her client's instructions to euthanise Shallow and she sedated him instead I guess to give the impression that she had euthanised him. The client went home and Dr. Paoli took Shadow home with the intention of treating him at home.

She sterilised him and removed his microchip and put a new one in. We don't know whether the one she put in contained her details or not. But she did say that she had no intention of adopting Shadow. It should be said that at the time Shadow had no owner because he was a rescue cat and had simply been rescued and brought to the clinic.

And therefore if she did intend to keep the cat she can't be accused of stealing or attempting to steal.

Anyway, after two months, Shallow's condition had not improved and Dr. Parody decided to put him to sleep at that time and owned up to what she had done to her client. Her client was shocked and elated and agreed to pay the £480 cost of treatment that Dr. Parody had administered.

The matter was investigated and Dr. Parody resigned her position at the clinic. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons tribunal found Dr. Parody guilty of disgraceful conduct and issued her with a reprimand.

At the hearing she said the following:

"I understand that my decision not to euthanise Shadow and instead to treat him without the consent of Ms SM was wrong.

"It was a decision I made on a very, very busy and stressful day and when I thought the cat had no owner but I fully appreciate that was no excuse.

"Once I had made that one decision, I did not revisit my decision but simply continued to treat the cat as best I could at an extremely stressful time.

"I accept that as a result of my decision and actions that the lady who had brought the cat in and who I now know was SM, was misled into thinking that it had been put to sleep and this is something I very much regret.

"My actions with regard to this cat all snowballed from my decision to treat the cat on 20 December and not put him to sleep.

"I know I should not have done this but because the cat was young and the condition curable, I felt that I was acting with the welfare of the cat at the centre of my decisions."

Comment: it's hard to know exactly what was in the mind of Dr. Parody at the time that she took this course of action. My gut feeling is that she in fact did want to adopt the cat because she did, after all, change the microchip. It doesn't really change the outcome although her motivations are important.

As you can see, she found Shadow to be a happy cat in her consulting room. I should think that he was probably an attractive cat to but I don't know. This vet has a heart. This is what makes her a good veterinarian. Euthanasia is always difficult both for the client and for the veterinarian. It should only happen after a good consultation with a good veterinarian and the timing of euthanasia is critical. It should not be delayed because the cat's owner doesn't want to relinquish their cat and say goodbye to them and likewise it should not be conducted to soon for obvious reasons.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.