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A couple who left their beloved £2,000 pet dog with a breeder to care for were horrified to learn the healthy animal had been euthanized without their knowledge after the breeder called the vet after the animal viciously attacked her.
Former paramedic Marie Dowling and her husband Daniel feared that breeder Racheal Bailey had left their seven-year-old dog named Dodge to die alone in a cage after a vet administered a lethal dose of sedatives.
The Dowlings had bought Dodge as a puppy from Mrs. Bailey, who is an expert on her particular breed of Czech wolfhounds, an unusual mix of German Shepherd Dogs and Carpathian wolves.
Last August, Ms Bailey called the couple and told them the dog had attacked her, but they say they were not told a vet had been called to euthanize their beloved pet.
Marie Dowling and her husband Daniel left their beloved dog Dodge with a breeder for a few weeks
The couple was shocked to discover that Dodge had been left on the ground when they went to pick it up.
The Dowlings drove two hours to Mrs Bailey’s farm in Lincolnshire to collect the dog, only to learn the shocking news that it had been euthanized and found its body, they say, next to their car.
After Daniel, 52, lost his construction job last summer, the couple faced financial difficulties and were temporarily homeless, so they asked their friend, Mrs. Bailey, to take over temporarily. Dodge for a few weeks.
“He was happy to help and as he knows the breed better than anyone, he was the perfect choice,” said Marie, 49, from Northampton, who works as an NHS phlebotomist, taking blood samples.
But three weeks later, in August, the couple received a call from Mrs. Bailey at her farm near Boston, Lincs, saying Dodge had bitten her.
“He’s always been a very gentle dog and it just sounded so out of place,” Marie said.
“She told us the vet was on the way but didn’t explain why and we were concerned and asked to come pick Dodge up the next day.”
“We found Racheal to be evasive and put us off saying she had to go to the hospital and she wouldn’t be available to deliver until tonight.”
When the couple arrived at the farm after a two-hour drive, Ms Bailey finally told them she had called a vet to euthanize Dodge because he had attacked her, Marie said.
“She told us that the vet hadn’t been able to give an injection, so he had mixed her food with sedatives, but hadn’t given her enough, so she had to come back in the morning to give her an injection.”
Dog breeder Racheal Bailey had the couple’s dog euthanized after she said it bit her.
Marie and Daniel said they were “absolutely devastated” by the breeder’s revelation that their dog was dead.
An investigation into the case found that the action of the vet who released the dog was “totally appropriate”
‘We were absolutely devastated. This was the first time she had told us he was dead – we had gone there hoping to take our dog home, but instead she had killed him.
Complaints to the police and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons were to no avail, Marie said.
“Lincolnshire Police said that as the dog had not suffered, there was no crime and as the vet said he thought Dodge belonged to Racheal, he had done nothing wrong, and RCVS agreed.”
MailOnline has seen the decision of the Royal College of Veterinary Standards inquiry into the case by its Case Examiner Group (CEG), which ruled that the actions of the vet, Alistair Mitchell, were “entirely appropriate and did not consider that there was a case debatable”. serious professional misconduct.”
Mr Mitchell told the College that Mrs Bailey called him and said she had been feeding the dogs when Dodge “jumped up and bit her on the face and shoulders”. She was on her way to the hospital and asked him to help her put Dodge to sleep.
The CEG agreed that Ms. Bailey suffered “substantial injuries that warranted the decision to euthanize Dodge.”
They added: ‘Mr Mitchell explained in his response that he believed Ms Bailey was the owner and that he had obtained the appropriate consent. He told the College that if he had known the Dowlings owned it, he would have discussed the options with them and sought her consent to euthanize the dog.
The vet told the CEG that the dog was charging into the crate when he arrived and decided to put pentobarbital in his food because he considered it too dangerous to go near Dodge.
He advised Dodge to pass away during the night, but received a call at 6 a.m. to say the dog was unconscious but breathing very little and gave him a lethal injection of pentobarbital.
Racheal Bailey told MailOnline: “There has been a police inquiry and in-depth inquiry by the Royal College of Vets which supported the euthanasia of the dog and the police have not taken the matter any further.” Those are the facts. As for the rest, there is nothing to discuss.
“It’s a serious incident that has occurred and I don’t think it’s sensible for anyone to discuss this as some kind of inflated story for the media to go crazy for.”