My dog was a resucue from German Shepherd Rescue in Victoria. I adopted him in July 2021 after he had a miserable start to life as a male breeder. His name was Phoenix.

He was 2 ½ years old when I adopted him, terribly underweight (38kg), and had a horrid ear and skin infection.

His infections had cleared up by the time I adopted him.

After 6 months he had returned to his appropriate weight (49kg) and by all accounts was now a heathy male, adult, sable German Shepherd.

In January 2022, his ear infection returned. I took him to a vet in Melbourne Victoria, Australia, and he was prescribed tablet medication for the "allergy" as it was determined to be.

The only information the vet said during the consultation was that he may drink & eat more than usual. Nothing else.

With no outwardly sign of any adverse effects and with the dosage prescribed followed, tragically on the 24th January, a week later, he DIED extreamly suddenly.

I had little to no time to react once it became apparent that he was unwell. When I contacted Petstock Carrum Downs the night of his death, they showned no once of  compassion and said that they believed that the "medication had not caused his death".

How can a supposedly heathy dog die so suddenly, when less that 24 hours earlier he was a happy dog. All that weekend we had taken him for 5 walks and as many drives, with no sign of trouble. For him to die in less that 1hr is unconscionable.

She had an obligation to inform me of any serious side effects that may have occurred with the medication, and she neglected her responsibility as a vet, to me and to my dog.

SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE VETERINARIANS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. I KNOW YOU CAN PERSUE THEM IN COURT FOR NEGLIGENCE OR MALPRACTICE, BUT FOR THOSE LIKE MYSELF, WHERE THAT IS NOT AN OPTION, THERE NEEDS TO BE ANOTHER AVENUE.  PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE AN OPTION THAT THEY CAN TAKE SO THEY CAN BE HEARD AND NOT JUST THROWN UNDER THE BUS AND FORGOTTEN ABOUT. THE RELEVANT AUTHORITIES, THE AVA AND VETBOARD AND OTHERS, NEED TO HAVE IN PLACE A LINE OF HELP FOR CONSUMERS, NOT JUST A "COMPLAINTS" FORM, THAT DOES LITTLE TO REPRIMAND VETS.

VETS NEED TO BE SANCTIONED IN SOME MANNER TO MAKE THEM THINK TWICE WHEN ADMINISTERING MEDICATION & TO BE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW A SET OF GUIDELINES TO STOP VETS BECOMING COMPLACENT DURING CONSULTATIONS.

Call it what you like, not thinking to ask at the time, nievivity, or needing someone to blame, I should have been armed with the information I needed that could have given me the chance to save my dogs life, when it really counted the most. I believe that Phoenix died on part, because of her of her failure to do her job correctly.

I know you say I should have gone online to check the side effects of the medication before administering, and your right I should have. But I also should have been armed with the correct information to begin with.

THESE OCCURANCES NEED THE CHANCE TO BE PREVENTED. THIS IS NO JOKE! AS I'M SURE THIS IS A ONGOING OCCURRENCE IN EVERY STATE OF AUSTRALIA. THIS HABIT WILL NOT CHANGE UNLESS WE STRIVE TO MAKE IT.