Watch your pets for effects of anesthesia

In June, I took my almost 11-year-old happy, apparently healthy dog to the vet for pain she was experiencing. I was told they needed to take X-rays, as the pain appeared to be in her back. They would need to sedate her, and I agreed.

When I picked her up, the vet told me she had arthritis in her knees and hips (not dysplaysia) and back, with a potential disc collapse. They would send her home with pain medication and muscle relaxants to watch for improvement.

To my horror, she was carried out by two vet techs. I was told this was “normal” for a senior pet under anesthesia. I took her home, and she never could walk that evening and was disoriented and had to be carried to move. She was crying out around 9 p.m. After I called the ER vet and returned to her side, she was not breathing, she was gone! Forever gone.

Please, if your pet is not walking on its own legs after anesthesia, do not take it home and demand monitoring. I don’t know if it would have saved my angel girl, but perhaps it might have!

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 7:16 AM with the headline "Watch your pets for effects of anesthesia."