Main fundraiser photo

To Advocate That Pets Be More Than Property By Law

Donation protected
How can a living being that is capable of loving us and protecting us, talking to us and playing with us, bringing us immeasurable joy and being true family members...and sadly, also capable of feeling pain...how can they be considered mere "property" in the eyes of the law?    I am referring to our pets.  How can I be told that my husky Dakota is only worth the equivalent of the value of a vacuum cleaner? 

The reason I find myself here, is because my husky Dakota was killed.  And in research, I have discovered that my incredibly devastating and crippling loss is equivalent to someone destroying my vacuum cleaner.

So now my goal is to effectively fight a huge insurance company with deep pockets to prove that PETS ARE MORE THAN PROPERTY.   This came about because 2 veterinarians  took advantage of my senior husky Dakota, resulting in her tragic death.  These doctors did 7 unauthorized procedures to her while she was under anesthesia.   

If I can afford to fight this in a court of law, I want to prove that PETS ARE MORE THAN PROPERTY.  The legal system is set up nowadays that regular people, like me, cannot have our day in court because we have to go up against huge insurance companies.   (A typical court case runs about $15,000.)  My goal is to legally fight that pets are more than property and that they need protection in the eyes of the law. 

Something I never knew - Vets’ malpractice insurance premiums are very low.  Why?  Because pets are only considered "Property".  Like "owning" a vacuum cleaner.  From what I am researching, insurance premiums only run about $20-$35 a month.  Here's a quote from the article "The High-Cost, High-Risk World of Modern Pet Care" by Jason Clenfield:

"What’s more, when veterinarians make fatal mistakes, they face no real financial consequences.  The law hasn’t changed to reflect the attitudes of the average pet owner; courts still treat pets as property.  Damages paid to owners whose pets have been killed or injured are so low that a typical medical malpractice insurance policy for a veterinarian costs less than $20 a month.  Damages are so low, in fact, that few pet owners can find a lawyer willing to take even the most egregious case of veterinary malpractice."

So basically, all these 2 doctors that killed Dakota may be “punished” with is a couple of bucks a month increase in their malpractice insurance.   And meanwhile, my life is forever changed.  I tragically and needlessly lost my best friend and furry soul mate.  And in the end, Dakota truly suffered greatly. 

Please understand, this is more than a fight for justice for Dakota.  This is a fight for the future of everyone else’s animal companions also.  Dakota is gone now, and I can do nothing to bring my Dakota back, and it breaks me down every single moment of every day and night.  But no one, absolutely no one, should ever have to go through something like this.   And if pets are considered more than property, maybe a doctor will think twice. 

I found this article and it is maddening.   It is a short read, if you have some time. 
https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-confessions-i-lied-when-a-pet-died/

Dakota's tragedy happened because these two vets thought they would never get caught.  I believe they were too arrogant about their surgical skills, and thought they were invincible.  Because if Dakota had just healed like the doctors thought she would, then who would ever know??  They could have done whatever they wanted to Dakota, but if she actually had healed, who would ever know??

But she didn’t heal.  And the lies began.  More specifically, they thought that I would not ask questions, or seek out answers, or do my own research, or find a law firm who would help me (most law firms would reject a case like this, because there's no money in it for them – please remember, under the law our loved furry ones are considered only mere “property”!)

The value of our furry loved ones, who in many cases, are our only true loving companion, should not be lumped into the category of “property” or viewed as a “commodity” in the eyes of the law  (It’s like telling me, to just go on Amazon and order another vacuum cleaner.  “What’s the big deal, you can just get another one.”)

Here is the story of how Dakota was killed. 







 
I've worked in a pet crematory for the past 5 years and I have heard some very sad, heartbreaking stories.  But Dakota’s death is the worst I've ever heard.  

This was a 10-day nightmare that cost me over $10,000 as Dakota struggled to survive due to 2 negligent – even uncaring -- doctors who I believe took advantage of my 9 year old senior husky Dakota while she was under anesthesia for exploratory surgery only, to go in and look for a possible blockage.

The main doctor, Dr. Darlene Sanchez owner of Loving Hands Animal Hospital in Chino, CA handed over some of Dakota’s care and surgery, without telling or asking me, to a very inexperienced vet, Dr. Shannon Noland, who had only recently graduated from vet school barely 7 months prior.  In my heart, I feel Dakota was used as a “training tool”.  They proceeded to remove part of Dakota’s stomach and do 6 unnecessary biopsies, which included a biopsy that penetrated her entire intestinal wall.  Meaning they actually put a hole in Dakota’s intestines, in addition to removing part of her stomach.  They never even asked for my authorization for this work or explained what they did.  They never discussed risks with me.  Why would they have?  They never even told me they were going to do it.  The authorization I signed, clearly states for “exploratory laparotomy” only.

I only gave authorization to “go in and take a peek” (using the doctor’s words) to look for a blockage such as a sock or blocked intestine.  And this is why I believe they basically used Dakota as a training tool.  They butchered her.  I have heartbreaking photos, texts, and videos throughout this 10-day nightmare.  And please remember, all along, Dr. Sanchez kept telling me that Dakota was okay and that this “was to be expected”.

But that’s not even everything.  There’s more.  The doctor even took Dakota home with her after this very serious surgery on my 9 year old senior husky and took videos and photos of her children playing with Dakota and Dakota jumping on her furniture.  Barely 30 hours after this horrible, very painful surgery.   What doctor does such a thing??  She even let Dakota run out of her house and across the street the next morning.   (And the day after Dakota died, Dr. Sanchez told me it would have been better if Dakota had just been hit by a car that day and killed.)

Dakota's story is so devastating.  She suffered so very much.  I was completely misled and lied to.  During that first surgery, they kept Dakota, my senior husky who was already in compromised health from this “blockage”, under anesthesia for 4 hours!  I even was calling the hospital and asking why she wasn't out of surgery yet.  It was supposed to be quick, to "just go in and take a peek".  After the surgery, Dr. Sanchez told me the only reason they even brought Dakota out of anesthesia is because they couldn’t keep her vitals up any longer, because they still had wanted to do an additional procedure to her, remove a section of her intestine.

Something like this could happen to any of us.  I can’t believe this happened to Dakota.  I’ve always been so diligent with my pets’ care, often putting them before myself, as many of us tend to do.  I’ve always given my cats and dogs the best care I could.  I believe Dr. Sanchez took advantage of me and Dakota as regular clients, and just thought she would do what she wanted to Dakota; to show Dr. Noland how to do different surgical procedures.

Please skip the next 4 paragraphs if you don’t want to read what happened.  It’s pretty intense.  As you read below, please remember these words from the Veterinarian’s Oath, “…I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for…the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering…”

Dr. Sanchez didn't even tell me about all the procedures that they did to Dakota until the next day, when I felt Dakota was struggling.  But Dr. Sanchez dismissed my concerns.  She even ignored it as Dakota bled out of her mouth while she lay in her hospital trying to survive (but I didn’t know this at the time).

Even worse, the doctor opened Dakota up AGAIN three days later as she promised to "save her”, but by then Dakota's insides had literally been eaten away by sepsis and had debris floating throughout her insides... so Dakota was literally eaten alive. Pieces of Dakota’s insides were actually missing.

I have read the medical notes, only after the fact, and am finding out the horror of what happened to Dakota under anesthesia during that first surgery.  I was never told by either doctor any of what happened.  Either of these doctors should have stood up to the other and protected Dakota, as she was under anesthesia.  And said “Dakota isn’t here for all of this”.

I was never told about the biopsies or the stomach removal until the day after.  I was never told of the emergency medicine, something called Yunnan Baiyao, they had to force (shove) into Dakota through her bottom to try to stop emergency bleeding.  What else did they do to her that I was never told??  I was horrified to discover this on my own while reading the medical notes.  Can you imagine how painful it has been to have to read through these medical and surgical notes on my own, and read these horrific details?  I was never told any of this.

If I had just been told what really happened that day, I could have tried to find her help with the best specialist doctors.  Or at the very least, had her hospitalized in a properly staffed and equipped specialty hospital. 

Instead, for the next 3 days, Dakota was being shuffled back and forth from one hospital to another “for routine observation” and even to the doctor’s personal house and back again.  In hindsight, everything is so wrong that happened.  But at the time, I was deferring to this doctor's expertise.  And paying thousands of dollars.  I trusted her to help Dakota as her DOCTOR.  And remember, Dr. Sanchez kept telling me Dakota was okay.

In hindsight, my poor little girl wasn’t even able to drink water for the last 5 days of her life.   And Dr. Sanchez kept telling me she was okay because she was “getting fluids”.  But Dakota just wanted to drink some water through her mouth, let alone eat something.  If I had just taken her elsewhere, but Dr. Sanchez kept telling me Dakota was okay.  And I believed the doctor.

All this is just a summary! There are so many "worse parts" of this story.   And what happens to the veterinarians? They just hand this death off to their insurance company and forget about it.

So what can someone like me expect to get from the insurance company? The law makes it EXTREMELY difficult to get emotional distress or punitive damages for pain and suffering. So what’s the replacement cost of a 9 year old Husky and some portion of my money back?  The cost of a vacuum cleaner??

For me, I will be haunted by this for the rest of my days.  And the incredible guilt I have over what happened to Dakota during her last 24 hours of life, that I do not even talk about here, due to it being so graphic and torturous.  Her final 24 hours were true torture at the direction of her own doctor!  Remember, I have texts and photos and video.

I literally weep every day with the sadness of losing my best friend so needlessly and painfully.  I just can’t believe Dakota had to suffer so badly, let alone die.  This is my life now.  And these 2 doctors just get to continue on with their lives, as if nothing.  Yet I relive this nightmare every single day.

And in the end, I asked Dr. Sanchez if she had just given Dakota the steroids that I asked her on 2 different occasions during this nightmare ordeal, would Dakota still be alive…and Dr. Sanchez’s owns words to me were “well, yeah...”  But then she cut me short because she had plans to go out that night, and the gas pump wouldn’t take her credit card (yes, she made this highly sensitive phone call to me as she was at a gas station), and she didn’t want to ruin her make-up (her words, not mine).

And that blockage Dakota went in for originally?  Well, at the end of it all, the “blockage” that Dakota went in for, was never even addressed.  It’s as though Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Noland got so busy cutting up Dakota, that they forgot the reason Dakota was actually there.  So now I feel the surgery, and Dakota’s subsequent death, were for nothing.

I absolutely cannot believe the love of my life, my little furry soulmate Dakota, died this way…Can you imagine having someone in your life, for over 9 years, that you never once got mad at.  That made you so happy every single day.  And this is how her life ends?

I need to be able to have my day in court.  I don't have the resources to effectively fight this. I will be fighting this huge freight train of money and power (her insurance company lawyers) and they will try to bury me in paperwork.  For example, when I requested Dakota’s medical records back in March, Dr. Sanchez’s office gave me 51 pages.  But when my attorneys requested the medical records in May, they gave over 400 pages.

I’m not pursuing justice solely for me.  I need to do this – publicly, so people can follow along and see how the legal system really works (doesn’t work) and how insurance company’s lawyers use the system to beat down average people like me (and you).

I want to create awareness, so we can get the Court of Public Opinion so large that public backlash leads legislators to fear losing their jobs if they don’t change the laws to reflect the morality and reality of today’s view of our pets who are truly family members. They are so much more than property! How can something that breathes, and thinks, protects and loves us, be considered just “property”?  Our pets should have some protections under the law.

Some vets (not the majority of vets), but some vets, HATE it when you “ask too many questions” – just like some human doctors used to, in the days before when human doctors were considered invincible. And the same is true with  veterinarians. And we NEED to ask questions to protect our loved ones.  I’ve heard from too many families in my job, that the veterinarians that cared for their pets in their last days were too arrogant to care or listen.

We now need to speak up and protect the voiceless ones, the ones who cannot advocate for themselves, our precious furry family members—because they can’t tell us what really happened behind closed doors at the vet.  What really happened to Dakota during that day of the first surgery and the following 2 days she spent in the doctor’s care?  Because according to Dr. Sanchez's account of those days, there is no reason Dakota should be dead.

Something like this can devastate entire families, and the devastation and grief and guilt over the suffering will stay with the families forever.

I trusted Dr. Sanchez, she had been Dakota's vet for over a year.  I took Dakota in sometimes as often as twice a week for treatments.  This doctor took advantage of me and Dakota.  They never even sent me a condolence card, until I asked for one, weeks after Dakota's death.

Doctors such as these two doctors have to do better.  At one time, Dr. Sanchez has actually used the line, "Don't you know who I am, don't you know my reputation?" on me.

Unfortunately, now some doctors are too big to care.  Too busy patting themselves on the back with their certifications, and experience, and education. They tout this info in their bios on their hospital websites.  And we, as pet parents, read this and make decisions based on this information.  And put our faith in this information.  And in the end, they don’t even have to live up to their credentials.

To this point, these 2 doctors who caused Dakota’s death are both named  “Doctors of the Year” per West Coast magazine.  Both are hailed as soft tissue specialists by West Coast Magazine.  And that is exactly what killed Dakota —their soft tissue specialist “skills.”  I relied on that endorsement.  And, yet basically, they are too big to care...

Dakota’s life should have ended as the love of a lifetime. I loved this little girl like no other…the great love of my life.  They say in a lifetime you get one “dog of your heart” and she was truly mine. 

When all is quiet in my mind, you cannot imagine how loudly this grief cries out.  There is no peace for me.  And it’s not fair that this should only cost the doctors a couple of bucks a month, literally pocket change.  So basically for these two veterinarians, it is a "no-stakes game".

I should be able to look back on my companionship and life with Dakota for the rest of my life with my heart swelling each time I think of her.  But instead, due to the carelessness, negligence and outright cruelty of these doctors, and their lack of respect for me as the pet parent, my life that I spent with Dakota will forever be marred by tragedy.  No matter how old you are, you always remember how your pet died.

In my final words, please let me tell you a little of who I have lost… Dakota was the girl who stayed in bed with me for 2 months because I could barely move as I waited for surgery.

Dakota was the one who could always see me getting upset or stressed and would bite me in the butt to distract me.

Dakota always knew when someone was sad and would proceed to lick them accordingly.

Dakota would have conversations with me everyday with her howling and various Husky noises.

I remember one time seeing Dakota sidestep a roly poly bug because she knew not to step on it.  She was just such a kind, gentle girl.

She knew how to tell me I left the garden hose on outside, or if a mouse was eating out of the bird feeder again.

If she wanted to play, she would turn on the Roomba to get my attention.

Dakota was the funniest girl I knew.  She made me laugh and sing every day.  She slept with me every night.  I cooked for her every day.  She loved me so very much.  And I love her so very much and miss her with a crushing sadness. 

And this is just MY sadness.  The sadness my son and husband have over Dakota is another layer of this devastating loss.  And Niko, our other husky, is just heartbroken every day.  I see the sadness in his eyes, since he has lost the girl he was rarely further than a few feet away from for the last 7 years.

No one even got to say goodbye to Dakota. No one. Because Dr. Sanchez kept telling me that Dakota was ok, right up until that last moment she put Dakota under anesthesia again to “save her”.

I’ve already spent thousands of dollars of my own money on legal representation and I accept that.  My law firm has already given countless hours of their own time at no charge.  We are truly a David vs. Goliath scenario here, fighting for for our family companions to be recognized as something more than “property”.

In 1994 I took a business law class at Cal State LA.  I remember at the time learning that “pets are considered property”.  And here we are, 26 years later, and pets are still considered just property.  But as society evolves, so must the law.  And maybe, just maybe, we can advocate for that here.  Dakota, and every other pet, should be valued at more than the value of a vacuum cleaner.

If you can help with a donation, I won’t waste your money.  I was a cost  accountant, and I know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck.  My law firm won’t waste your money; they do so much of this at no charge. They are a firm that specializes in advancing the rights of animals. You can find them at www.rytherlawgroup.com if you want to read about them.  And the sooner we can get the funds, it will help to build on our solid foundation for the litigation to follow. 

I expect my legal and court costs to run an additional $15-20,000, because we will be up against a huge insurance company with deep pockets. And I’m not asking you for all of it, just if you can help out a little, so that we can take an effective stand against a legal system and an insurance system that does not value our beloved pet companions. This in turn, allows some veterinarians to hide their  incompetence, lack of care, negligence, or all three. I’m not saying all vets, but there are some…remember, I work in a pet crematory and have heard the stories directly from families.

But never in a million years would I have imagined this would happen to Dakota. And down the road, inevitably something like this will happen again to another family.  And that is why we need to have this fight now.

And please know, I know that times are tough right now, but if you can give even $1 or $2, it will add up, and it would be very much appreciated.  If you can’t, I just ask that you please share this story and pray for us to continue to have the courage to fight this.  Because someone has to have this fight, things aren’t going to change on their own.

I plan to share more of this story with you.

And to my precious, precious Dakota, who I basically only got to spend a whole 15 seconds with that last day —
I’m so sorry we didn’t get a proper goodbye.  Thank you for always being there.  Thank you for being my girl.  I know that you know how much I love you, because I told you all the time, and that’s the only thing I don’t regret here.  And I know you loved me.  I’m so, so sorry Dakota.
And just know this Dakota…if I had a thousand different lifetimes, I would choose you every single time.  I would go to the ends of the earth to find you, and I would choose you. Every single time…
If I could only get another chance.  I love you girl...

To everyone that has read this to the end, thank you for your time for reading this.  My grief is just so difficult to articulate.  It is just so very personal.  And many thanks in advance for your help – in whatever form it takes.  My name is Deanna.








Donate

Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $100 
    • 6 mos
  • Emilianne Methvin
    • $20 
    • 3 yrs
  • Marlene Dantzer
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
  • Anne Sbragia
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
  • Ralph Sbragia
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
Donate

Organizer

Deanna Kondrath
Organizer
Orange, CA

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.