Triesie the Yorkshire Terrier who suffered a burn wound from a hot water bottle: Picture supplied
ZELDA VENTER
THE owner of a Yorkshire Terrier called Triesie is suing a veterinary clinic for about R400 000 for emotional damages and vet bills he had incurred after the dog underwent a cruciate ligament repair, but was allegedly badly burnt on her other leg by a hot water bottle.
The bottle was allegedly placed on that leg while she was sedated.
Riaan Nortje turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, where he demanded damages from the Pierre van Ryneveld Veterinary Clinic and from one of its vets, Dr Hester van Zyl.
He said that Triesie was a show dog before her “traumatic” experience at the veterinary clinic. However, her show days are over due to her injury and scar.
His advocate, Mark Coetzee, told the court that the gaping wound which was allegedly caused by the warm water bottle to Triesie’s leg, which later became septic, was due to the negligence of the clinic and the veterinary surgeon.
They, however, denied any wrongdoing and said that Nortje had to prove his case in court.
Nortje said in his particulars of claim that Triesie went to the clinic in February 2019 for a cruciate ligament repair. She had to stay at the clinic for a few days.
A few days after he had fetched her, he noticed that she had swelling on the right-hand side of her body and that she experienced severe discomfort when touched on her right-hand side.
Nortje spoke to his veterinarian about it and was told that a hot water bottle was pressed against her right-hand side during the operation, which could explain her discomfort.
He took her back later to have her stitches removed and, according to him, he was told to ignore the swelling and her discomfort.
He was advised to treat the swelling with a hot and a cold cloth. He said Triesie began “oozing pus” from the skin on her right-hand side and it emitted an odour of rotting flesh.
He was given medication for her, but things did not go better, and he yet again returned her to the clinic as the wound smelled bad.
According to Nortje, he was told at the clinic that this could perhaps be her breath as a result of eating dog faeces.
He stated that when he returned her on another occasion, part of her skin was removed from the burnt area. At this juncture, Nortje said, she still needed to be assisted with feeding; she was unable to walk, nor could she defecate.
He was then told by the vet that the “complete” skin on her right-hand side had to be removed because it was “physically rotten off her body”.
According to him, the veterinarian apologised for the burning of the dog and said it was a mere accident. Triesie’s skin was then stretched during an operation from her back to her lower abdomen, where it was stitched together.
Nortje said during this entire ordeal, she had lost about 25% of her body weight. According to him, Triesie has not yet recovered from the “ill treatment” she had received.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za
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