# Why did my vet (indirectly) kill my epileptic dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105 "2015-11-20T19:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/81 "2015-12-05T19:15:47Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I’ve seen this objection a couple of times in this thread, and it puzzles me, because there’s no issue of competing knowledge. The vet didn’t tell the OP that she was wrong or that a different treatment was indicated. Exactly so, Tom, thanks for paying attention. The question of whether it was _correct_ to respond to the seizures with rectal valium was never at issue. (Again, she did provide it, it’s just that Zu was too far gone at that point.) I got the answer to the question, or at least I’ve filled in the missing parts about why and how it’s an issue, and that’s what I posted this for, so I’m satisfied. I see that this has prompted quite a bit of spirited conversation, though; don’t let my exit dampen your enthusiasm. Not that it ever has… just saying I support you pursuing whatever it is you need to pursue to get whatever it is you get out of it. Seriously. We’re all here for our own reasons, to get whatever flavor of juice we get out of it. So enjoy! Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/82 "2015-12-05T19:26:32Z")
A quick note for those who may be “Whaaat?” because they don’t know me, and just to avoid your wasting time on this aspect: I absent myself from threads that become (or start as) dissections of me personally, because \*I absent myself from all threads that become dissections of anyone personally. \* There’s a pretty substantial list of reasons for this, none of which I’m going to go into; it’s just not my thing on any level, no matter who its about, and never has been. _Now_ I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/83 "2015-12-05T19:57:28Z")
Wait. Did you just say you have a substantial list of reasons… that you’re \*not \*going to go into? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/84 "2015-12-05T20:36:27Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > A quick note for those who may be “Whaaat?” because they don’t know me, and just to avoid your wasting time on this aspect: I absent myself from threads that become (or start as) dissections of me personally, because \*I absent myself from all threads that become dissections of anyone personally. \* There’s a pretty substantial list of reasons for this, none of which I’m going to go into; it’s just not my thing on any level, no matter who its about, and never has been. > > _Now_ I’m done. is it too much to ask that you all just tell me what I want to hear? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/85 "2015-12-06T02:43:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Wait. Did you just say you have a substantial list of reasons… that you’re \*not \*going to go into? Yes. Don’t know why that would seem so odd to you… discussing the reasons I don’t participate in threads where people are focused on discussing other board members in a very personal way, about who they are as people, would necessarily require some degree of doing exactly that, even though it wouldn’t involve names, so, yeah, not going to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/86 "2015-12-06T02:44:43Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > is it too much to ask that you all just tell me what I want to hear? I try to be accommodating, but I don’t know what you want to hear…is it something nice? Perhaps involving pancakes? ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/87 "2015-12-06T02:45:58Z")
So we’re now going into why she “doesn’t get into…”. My head hurts ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/88 "2015-12-06T02:49:33Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > A quick note for those who may be “Whaaat?” because they don’t know me, and just to avoid your wasting time on this aspect: I absent myself from threads that become (or start as) dissections of me personally, … So you start threads with the expectation that you’ll be able to bail at your convenience? > [@](#): > > _Now_ I’m done. Currently, two posts by **stoid** have followed this statement. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/89 "2015-12-06T03:41:28Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > So you start threads with the expectation that you’ll be able to bail at your convenience? Versus what, exactly? I generally hang with threads I start at least until one of the following: a: my question is answered or b: it’s clear it won’t be or c: the topic has been given a pretty good going over d: my topic is no longer the topic And I think I’m not much different than most other posters in this respect. What is the scenario you believe more appropriate, Frank? Would you like us to implement some kind of official “thread - release” papers? (as far as this particular thread, items a, c and d are all true) > [@](#): > > Currently, two posts by **stoid** have followed this statement. Neither of which were about the things being discussed in the thread, which is what I’m done with. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/90 "2015-12-06T04:11:14Z")
Yes folks - we ARE going to go into it!!! Yaaaaa! ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/91 "2015-12-06T04:49:56Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I try to be accommodating, but I don’t know what you want to hear…is it something nice? Perhaps involving pancakes? Only if they’re administered orally. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/92 "2015-12-06T06:59:14Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > \*I absent myself from all threads that become dissections of anyone personally. \* I trust that the dog was not dissected. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/93 "2015-12-06T09:00:38Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Only if they’re administered orally. Yum. > [@Muffin](#): > > I trust that the dog was not dissected. No, more’s the pity: I would have liked to have learned if she had idiopathic (no known cause) epilepsy or if it was a symptom of something else. She went from zero to 60, so to speak, which is not a common way for plain’ ol’ epilepsy to appear. But speaking of that… the vet where she was euthanized told me I would get some notification after she was cremated and scattered as part of a group cremation… no word yet, i wonder how long it’s supposed to be? Not that I really care… I have all my other dogs cremated individually, and I find it doesn’t really mean anything to me. Hell, I’ve got about a cup’s worth of my mom and my sister mixed up together in a funky little tupperware container somewhere and it doesn’t really faze me one way or another. Once we’re gone we’re just meat, really. Or dust, as the case may be. God I just remembered that my friend who killed himself (the famous Rectal Valium Incident) is in a box in my living room! His widow was moving to Texas and giving me some things… she said she didn’t think he’d much appreciate being in texas and asked me to take his ashes. How weird… . ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/94 "2015-12-07T04:39:37Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > God I just remembered that my friend who killed himself… is in a box in my living room! (I’ll take “Things I Never Thought I’d Hear” for 800, Alex.) Wow, **Stoid** , you should solicit suggestions on what to do with him. You might get some interesting trips out of the deal. 'Spose we could just discuss that in your ‘absence’… ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/95 "2015-12-07T13:41:59Z")
You’re probably trying for humor, but it’s actually a problem sometimes. What _do_ you do with someone’s cremains (industry preferred term) if they’d never discussed it? My brother died unexpectedly. He’d never married, no children, no ‘significant other’ at the time, so I ended up in charge. I at least knew he preferred cremation over burial, we’d talked about that when our father died, but he’d never said a word about what he wanted to have done with them. My brother was an atheist, and basically believed that ‘dead is dead’, and was really pragmatic about everything in life. My guess is that if I could ask him, he would have said “Just throw them out” – but… Add in that there are laws about the disposal of human remains, well, obviously. It took me a couple years to actually deal with it, and for that time the box just sat on a shelf of a book case. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/96 "2015-12-07T13:50:02Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Add in that there are laws about the disposal of human remains, well, obviously. My friend Joe fished at a local park in his free time. We wanted to disperse his ashes at the area of lakeshore that he loved. When I asked permission I was told no. I asked the guy if he was sure, because I’d heard of others dispersing ashes there. He pointed out that if we just did it nobody would bother us, but technicaly it was against their rules. Now we joke about Joe sleeping with the fishes. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105/97 "2015-12-14T03:05:35Z")
For future reference, anyone who is so distraught over a horrible death can get medication from their own doctor: there is no need for them to use your dog’s rectal valium which is likely not the right dose for a human anyway. I am sorry about your dog. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-vet-indirectly-kill-my-epileptic-dog/738105.md?page=4)