Why was our poor puppy made to suffer?

Rusty in better times.

A DEVASTATED dog lover is demanding answers after her pet died an agonising death just a week after adopting him from The Dogs’ Trust.

Jasmine Carroll and Paul Hill, from Derker, were overjoyed to be taking on five-month-old lurcher pup Rusty from the rehoming charity in Denton.

But just a few days later he became seriously ill prompting an emergency visit to Manchester Street Veterinary Surgery in Oldham.

As vets carried out a series of tests, they discovered Rusty had a congenital blood clotting disorder.

Jasmine described what followed as both “shocking and disgusting” and has criticised the surgery and The Dogs’ Trust for what she says has been a truly harrowing experience.

Jasmine said they were told by the clinic Rusty needed an urgent blood transfusion but would have to be transferred to an emergency surgery in Bury.

She said when they got there his condition had rapidly deteriorated.

“Through the whole journey Rusty was crying in pain and losing blood from his mouth.

“When we took him in, the vet realised he wasn’t breathing. Within 60 seconds of being there we were told he was dead.

“The lovely vets at the emergency service were brilliant and they gave him a shot of adrenaline and heart massage to try and save him but it was too late.

“Within half an hour of us leaving the vets our poor puppy had died.”

Jasmine is now demanding to know why they were advised to make the incredibly distressing journey when Rusty was in such a bad way.

“It would have been much kinder to have offered us the choice of putting him down and not allowing him to die in a painful way,” added Jasmine.

To add to the trauma of losing Rusty, who arrived at the rehoming centre from Ireland, she said there was also an issue over the free month-long insurance offer which hadn’t been arranged when they rang to sort out covering the spiralling costs of his treatment.

“We were told Rusty had had all his injections and had absolutely no health issues barring his kennel cough which he was having antibiotics for,” said Jasmine.

“He was the perfect addition to our family and was lovely with Paul’s son Rhys.

“Why wasn’t his condition picked up? I know they can’t check for everything but when a dog comes in from another country surely they should be thoroughly tested.”

In a statement to the Chronicle, rehoming centre manager at The Dogs’ Trust, Dawn Bishop, said: “The staff at The Dogs’ Trust, particularly those who cared for him at the rehoming centre, are extremely upset at the passing of Rusty.

“We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family at this very distressing time.

“Dogs’ Trust staff have been in contact with Miss Carroll since last week and are in the process of speaking to the different parties involved so we can fully understand what happened after Rusty was rehomed from us.

“All Dogs’ Trust dogs are seen by a veterinary surgeon on several occasions and we can confirm that Rusty had two full clinical examinations in Ireland and a further two in the UK by veterinary surgeons prior to being rehomed.

“During these examinations there was no indication of any bleeding disorder.

“It is not feasible to test every dog coming into our centres for every possible condition, but, of course, if our clinical examinations indicated any medical problem, we would immediately carry out further investigations, take appropriate action and advise potential adopters of this condition.

“We can confirm that each dog that leaves our rehoming centres receives a four-week insurance policy through a major pet health insurance provider from the moment they are adopted.

“At Dogs’ Trust our priority is always the dogs in our care and, like Miss Carroll, we are keen to understand what happened to Rusty.”

Manchester Street Veterinary Surgery nurse manager and practice owner Shelley Jennings-Sharp said they are aware of the family’s concerns and are responding to them directly.


SHOCK death . . . lurcher pup Rusty