Utah resident Andrea is still reeling from a veterinary mix-up that saw her dog Ziggy mistakenly euthanized. All because another dog at the clinic shared the same name!

A misunderstanding and a dog euthanized

Andrea had taken her beloved dachshund, Ziggy to the Davis County Veterinary Clinic in Utah. Ziggy was suffering from respiratory and digestive problems. After a first examination, the vet explained that Ziggy would require an operation to alleviate his suffering. In total confidence, Andrea left her small dog in the vet's expert hands.

During the night, Andrea received a call from the clinic to let her and her family know that little Ziggy had died. Some confusion arose, and then the vet, in a very embarrassing position, had to explain the horrible misunderstanding that had taken place.

The mix-up

While Ziggy was on the operating table, the veterinarian team realized that the small dog's condition was worse than they thought. They needed to contact Andrea to explain Ziggy's situation and let her make her decision over whether to proceed or not. However, the clinic made the heartbreaking mistake of confusing Andrea's contact details with another client.

As it happened, there was another dachshund named Ziggy who also had to undergo surgery at the same clinic. Mixing up the dogs, the clinic called the owner of the other Ziggy - and not Andrea. They explained that the operation would be much more complex and take longer, and therefore be more costly. They proposed two options: to proceed with the operation or put Ziggy to sleep. Thinking it was their Ziggy being discussed and not Andrea's, the owner chose the second option. Andrea's Ziggy was then put to sleep.

"He was my daughter's best friend"

Andrea took to Facebook in a now deleted post describing her anger and devastation at the situation.

"They let a stranger decide my dog’s fate... They robbed me the choice of saying 'at least we tried'," Andrea said.

"He was our baby, he was my daughter's best friend. Money was not a problem."

Despite Ziggy not being in a good way when he arrived at the clinic, Andrea said she will never know whether or not he could have survived the operation.

The veterinary clinic waived all costs involved with Ziggy's visit and offered Andrea and her family an urn containing Ziggy's ashes, as well as a plaque for Ziggy and memorial Christmas ornament.

"They said there’s no making it right, but this is what they can do to show that they’re sorry," Andrea said.

A very tragic misunderstanding this holiday season.

Source: New York Post and rtl.be/Local 12.

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