cat

A routine trip to the vet turned into a nightmare for one pet owner. A Massachusetts woman says her cat went in for a flea bath and it was euthanized instead. That's right. Instead of getting de-bugged, the poor kitty was killed. 

Colleen Conlon's son Jesse took her 8-year-old feline Lady to the Broadway Animal hospital last week and vet Muhammad Malik mistakenly put her to sleep -- and you won't believe how the whole heartbreaking mix-up happened.

Jesse had unknowingly authorized the cat to be put to sleep after he was handed the wrong forms. He realized what had happened only after the vet came out and asked if he wanted Lady's remains. "At first he thought it was some cruel joke," Conlon told the Telegram & Gazette.

For his part, Malik doesn't feel he's totally to blame -- after all, he said the proper papers were signed. "I don't think there was any malicious intent, but I do think it was negligent," admitted Conlon. "I'm sure there are standards of practice they have to follow." So far, she has filed a complaint with the attorney general's office and plans to talk to state licensing officials.

No matter her next move, I doubt little will soothe her heartache. Our pets are more than just pets. For most of us, they are furry, four-legged family members we would do anything for. Lady had been a gift from Conlon's daughter just a year before she was killed in a 2010 car accident, which surely makes this loss even more painful.

How would you react if this happened to your pet?



Image via Magnus Brath/Flickr