CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Nicole Marsden breaks down in tears recalling the final moments of her dog’s life as his small body seized up and went limp.
“My little dog was dying in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do. I felt lost, so helpless,” she said, sobbing.
“I picked him up and all I could do was cry. I was hysterical. He was so weak, but he was still looking at me.”
King Xander — Marsden’s four-year-old longhair mini dachshund (also known as a wiener dog) — died late Saturday afternoon after suffering hours of vomiting, diarrhea and rectal bleeding.
Marsden is speaking out, saying the veterinarian clinic that handled on-call emergencies that day refused her dog treatment and it died as a result.
“I’m still in shock. It’s pretty hard thinking about it all,” she said during a telephone interview from her home in Corner Brook. “It’s just not right. Xander needed help and he died because he didn’t get it.”
A former veterinary employee, Marsden first noticed something wrong with King Xander late Friday night when he had mild diarrhea. He was still drinking water, so she wasn’t overly alarmed. But throughout the night, Xander’s symptoms worsened and he began vomiting. She saw he still had energy, so she continued to monitor him closely.
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A few hours later, when she saw blood on Xander’s rear end, she realized his condition was getting serious and called the emergency veterinarian line.
“When I saw blood, it was scary …,” Marsden said. “I couldn’t wait anymore. He had to see a vet.”
But that turned out to be more difficult than she thought.
Since King Xander’s regular vet, Dr. Ian Crane, was out of town, she called the emergency line for each of the two other clinics in the area that provide after-hours care. She got voicemail messages stating that only registered client pets of those two clinics would be seen.
“I said to my boyfriend, ‘That can’t be true,’” said Marsden, who has been involved in pet rescue initiatives.
“We’ve had animals to the clinic in the past. Not Xander, but this is an emergency.”
She said the voicemail directed callers to a number and a website. When she called that number, an operator from Las Vegas directed her to a triage vet service. After several tries to reach triage, she finally reached an operator, who took the information and said he would contact a vet in her area to arrange to have the dog brought in to be seen.
“He said there likely wouldn’t be an issue,” she said.
But there was.
When the triage operator called Marsden back about 15 minutes later, she said he told her the clinic taking emergencies that day — the Animal Health Centre in Corner Brook — said it wouldn’t treat her dog because King Xander wasn’t a registered client. She said he told her his only advice would be for her to get the dog to its own veterinarian.
“I just couldn’t believe it. I explained that he needed to be seen right now. He was getting weak and I was losing him,” said Marsden, noting she had been in touch with Crane, who was trying to make it back as soon as he could.
“I begged him. I was so desperate to get Xander help. I was angry and panicking. What was I going to do? I couldn’t let him die. I just couldn’t.”
Frustrated and feeling desperate, Marsden made a short recording of her dog and posted it to Facebook — partly as a cry for help and partly to show what was happening as her dog was being refused treatment.
When a friend messaged her to suggest she try West Coast Veterinary Services in Stephenville, she had a glimmer of hope, as she continued to try and keep King Xander alive by syringing water into his mouth.
“I didn’t even know there was a vet in Stephenville,” she said. “I thought, yes! Maybe they can help.”
A voicemail directed her to a website, where she had to provide information and pay US$50 to be put in contact with a triage operator via video.
It was the same triage operator she had talked to minutes before.
“My heart just sank. I just cried,” she said, breaking down in tears. “I knew then that was it. There was no hope. I was going to lose him.”
She even called 911, but there was nothing police could do.
“I just didn’t know what else to do and felt I had to do something,” said Marsden, who took her two small children, ages 2 and 6, to stay with relatives once the situation became dire.
“He was suffering and I just wanted someone to help us.”
She stayed with King Xander for hours, watching him grow weaker.
“I just started screaming,” she said. “I cried and screamed like I never have before.”
She picked her dog up, wrapped him in a blanket and held him in her arms.
Not long after, King Xander breathed his last breath.
More than four hours had passed since she’d made the first call to the vet clinic for help.
"Xander was our family member and he was left to suffer and die. I feel like, in a way, they were discriminating against me because I used another clinic more than theirs. I never, ever imagined something like this could happen here." — Nicole Marsden
She never did find out what killed King Xander. Her other dog was experiencing milder symptoms which were treated by Crane the next day when he got back in town.
“I’m just angry and so hurt. Xander was our family member and he was left to suffer and die,” she said. “I feel like, in a way, they were discriminating against me because I used another clinic more than theirs.
“I never, ever imagined something like this could happen here. How could they just let him die? It just blows my mind.”
Frances Drover, president of the NL West SPCA, said she was dismayed to hear that Marsden’s dog was refused treatment.
When she found out, Drover said she reported it to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary — to cover any issues regarding the province’s Animal Health and Protection Act — and then sent an urgent message to the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Veterinarians, asking for it to exercise its authority in this case.
That was before King Xander died.
“We were at the point where we were going to say, ‘Come on, Nicole. We will meet you at the vet. We’ll get this done.’ But we were too late,” Drover said.
She said it isn’t the first time an animal had been refused treatment in the area, and that a similar situation happened last month in Stephenville.
She said Crane had been in business with one of the two clinics in the past before branching out on his own and she hopes there was nothing personal about their decision to deny any of Crane’s pet clients care.
Drover, who is also a member of the SPCA NL board, said the issue of vets refusing care has come up in the past.
“This is just not right and why, in Newfoundland, where we have a number of vets in a number of different places — six or seven in an area – surely goodness, one, in a dire situation, would step up to the plate and help somebody …
“It’s really upsetting when something like this happens and it should never be.”
When The Telegram contacted the Animal Health Centre in Corner Brook to speak to a veterinarian about the incident Tuesday, the receptionist said they could not comment due to confidentiality reasons. She said to visit review the veterinarians’ bylaws for emergency visits online.
Dr. Maggie Brown-Bury, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Veterinary Medical Association, said she can’t discuss the incident without having all the details and consulting with the board of directors.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know,” she said.
She said while the bylaws are available online, if a client feels a veterinarian has acted in a way that does not comply with regulations, they can file a complaint with the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Veterinarians.
Speaking in general terms, Brown-Bury said there can be a specific situation when a veterinarian clinic can deny service — for example, if there were threats of violence or there was a refusal to pay service fees.
“It is a business and there are lots of reasons why we might decline care,” she said.
“Every situation is unique and there will be times when (denying care) might not be appropriate, but that’s why it’s really hard for me to comment at this time,” Brown-Bury said.
“This whole situation is very unfortunate and I’m very sorry that the woman’s dog passed away, but right now the (Newfoundland and Labrador Veterinary Medical Association) and college don’t have all the details.”
Brown-Bury pointed out that a vet clinic’s decision to see a pet can depend on whether they’re a regular client, have another regular vet in the area or are visiting the area.
“But it’s hard to be black and white, especially when you don’t have all the facts,” she said.
Nicole O’Brien, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Veterinarians — which manages the licensing and discipline of provincial veterinarians — said the organization is investigating the incident.
“All I can say is we’ve just recently been made aware of the situation,” she said. “We’re looking into the matter and where it’s an active investigation, we can’t make any comment.”
Meanwhile, Marsden is considering making a formal complaint.
She has started a Facebook group, "Justice for Xander," with nearly 600 people joining by lunchtime Friday.
“It’s too late for King Xander,” she said. “I just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
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