Overnight at the Animal Hospital.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Recently a friend of mine( a nurse) had to leave her little dog at the vet overnight because he had surgery. She called to check on him and was told that he didn't have an IV or anything but that she couldn't take him home because they needed to keep him for observation. When she went to pick him up the next day, she found out that not only did he have an IV running but that they had sedated him overnight with Hydromorph which is a morphine product. The kicker to all of this is that the overnight observation was an empty vet clinic, no one stays with the animals overnight. So a tiny dog with an IV infusing and sedated was left alone. When asked about this the reply was that they had cameras. Is this common practice, or just bad policy. This is the same vet clinic that I take Quincy to. After hearing this, there is no way I would leave my baby alone overnight unattended. This same friend has an aunt whose dog died at the same vet after being spayed. She was slow to wake up after the anaesthetic so they wanted to keep her overnight. The poor puppy died during the night with no one there to help her. This feels so totally wrong that I just can't get it out of my head, being an LPN myself it just goes against everything that is ingrained in us about good patient care. These are our babies and we certainly want what's best for them.

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

I have had a dog stay at the vets overnight but they were recovering from sedation and probably slept.  I assumed no one was there overnight although the vet lived few feet away.  We didn't crate so I assume that was the reason.  Leaving an IV in the pet is just nuts.  

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

I am an accountant and have had a few vet practices (and emergency vet clinics) as clients.

None of the "regular" vets has anyone overnight to watch the animals - although at some practices they will bring the animals home with them if they need to be watched through the night.  Although this is not normal practice.

The best place is at a facility that is open 24/7.  Even then I would question how often the animals are checked.