Did This Vet Do The Right Thing by Saving the Dog Instead of Euthanizing It?

Benji, a 10-year-old mutt, had a debilitating stroke earlier this year. Its owner, an Australian diplomat in Taipei, Taiwan, took her to a vet and asked that the dog be euthanized to save her needless indignity and suffering.

According to Taipei Times, veterinarian Yang Dong-sheng, took the money but unbeknownst to the owner, decided to save Benji at his own expense. Within weeks, Benji had recovered enough to escape from the doctor's home and was later caught by a dog-catcher who found her wandering on the street.

Benji was then returned to her owner of record, who was shocked to find the dog still alive. He decided to sue the vet for breach of contract. The doctor, on the other hand, claimed that he did nothing wrong.

Enru Lin of the Taipei Times has the full story: Link - via Arbroath

What do you think? Did the vet do the right thing?

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He was right to save the dog, just not take her money.

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I agree. I think that's because it ultimately comes down to whether a person believes a vet is responsible to his furry patients or the people paying the bills.

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The poll result is much closer than I'd originally thought.

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If the vet didn't take the money, the family would know he wasn't going to euthanize the dog, so they likely would have gone somewhere else. It's an ethical gray area when you know lying to the owners is the only way to save an animal's life.

But really, if the family loved the dog that much, wouldn't they be happy to see it alive and healthy, not ready to sue because the dog ISN'T dead?

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While I don't personally believe that animals should have the same rights as humans, I also find it more than a little disturbing that the idea that the original owner should be the one to decide when the animal should die, regardless of health status, is apparently considered normal by a lot of people.

Based on the article, the maid who brought him the dog (and didn't tell him she was only a maid and not the dog's owner) was happy the dog could be saved (she was the dog's primary caregiver), and understood completely that the money the family was giving him would go towards the dog's medical care instead. It was essentially the maid that lied in order to save the dog when the family didn't want to, and I'm on her side, that family was cold as ice.

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