According to a report in the Daily Mail, Worcester vet David Denny MRCVS accidentally euthanised a Jack Russell in the presence of its owner, who believed he was giving the animal antibiotics.

Mr Denny told VetSurgeon.org that it had been the result of a dreadful misunderstanding between himself and his secretary, for which he had apologised, but that he couldn't say much more because the VDS had advised him not to talk to the media.

The dog, called Gunner, was 14 years old; old enough that alarm bells obviously didn't go off when it was presented to Mr Denny for euthanasia (or so he thought).

The story does serve as a reminder of the importance of communicating with absolute clarity, both written and oral, when performing euthanasia. In this case, the Daily Mail reports that Mr Denny asked the client: "if Gunner had had enough". Under any other circumstances, that would seem a sensitive comment to make. In this case, though, the owner thought he meant the dog had had enough of its cough.

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