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Attending Veterinarian:
Lucy Killed by her vet, John Youngberg DVM March 2, 2004 Lucy, our lovely angora goat was in labor. We comforted her, cheerfully assuring her that everything would be alright. It wouldn't be. When a nose appeared instead of the normal presentation of front feet, I immediately called the Mille Lacs Veterinary Clinic P.A. for emergency assistance. Lucy would need the help of an expert for delivery. John Youngberg DVM, answered the call an hour or so later. In the 25 years that he had been my veterinarian, I'd never seen him act so cold, as if I had made him miss his lunch. After sending my husband Curt for a bucket of warm water, Youngberg grabbed Lucy's fleece and roughly pulled her into a kneeling position, her rump in the air. On his knees behind her, his body erect, staring straight ahead over her, he couldn't have been stiller if he were posing for a portrait. He ignored Lucy. He ignored me. My attempt at conversation fell flat. It was a Twilight Zone moment of frozen time. In the tense silence, I was uncomfortable. Finally I whispered, "Are we waiting for something?". "Warm water," he said.
Lucy screamed as he jammed his arm far up her vagina to reposition the baby. It looked like he was trying to turn her inside out. Youngberg made no effort to be gentle. He gave no kind words to Lucy. He was so very rough that I feared he was causing internal injuries! Lucy continued to scream. Curt held her head in his lap and tried to sooth her. I looked on, horrified that we would surely lose Lucy or the babies, or both. Finally, Youngberg yanked out the first baby. He shoved her towards me and went back in for a second kid. In all of the births I've witnessed, I've never seen babies ripped out of the mother like that. Both kids were alive. He gave Lucy a shot, cleaned himself up, and got ready to leave.
Lucy wasn't a farm animal. She was a beloved member of our family.
I was toweling off wet, wiggling bodies as Youngberg told us that Lucy would probably have difficulty in delivering the placenta. He said that if it hadn't passed in a few days, she might require some antibiotics. Youngberg directed us to get some lambs' milk replacement and a couple of human baby bottles. He grabbed one of the kids and shoved her in Lucy's face. Lucy was in a daze. She did not respond to her new daughter. In shock and agony, she lay in a heap moaning. Dr. Youngberg frowned. He told us never to breed Lucy again. We wouldn't. The vet started to leave. Following him with a newborn goat in my arms I asked him if he could come back the next day to check on the new family. He stopped and stood still, not saying a word. "Please!" I said to his back. He sighed and said he would come back in the morning. When he had finished his work, Lucy lay moaning in shock and agony. She would never recover. We had two precious, hungry little white Pygora bottle babies. The vet would kill them all the next day.
Phaedra Phaedra's first steps Shiloh rests, her tummy full
March 3, 2004 We had stayed up all night, taking care of Lucy and the babies. We were very worried about Lucy. She had indeed passed the afterbirth, however she had remained unresponsive and seemed to be slipping. Her moans were weak. By morning it became clear that she was dying. The kids were strong, active, and always hungry. We had made their bed in a dog crate in the office. Already they were hopping in and out. They were starting to play. Having never known their mommy, they were very happy to have us as their parents. Living in the house was the most natural thing in the world to them. We carpeted the entire room with washable rugs and blankets. These kids were functioning well, and were obviously not housebroken. After 9 o'clock, I called Mille Lacs Veterinary Clinic to see why the veterinarian had not shown up. I was frantic. Lucy was in trouble. She was fading very fast. I requested emergency status. When Dr. Youngberg finally arrived, he gave Lucy a quick once-over and began his 'euthanasia speech' in a practiced soft, sing-songy voice, "Now, she's been a good friend to you.... It's time for you to be a good friend to her." It was obvious she deeply suffering. The vet offered us no hope and no satisfactory explanation of what had gone wrong. He said that she must have broken her pelvis at one time and she was coincidentally dying from some health problem unrelated to the birthing. It would have been cruel not to give the vet permission to end her suffering. But had he caused her suffering? Lucy was healthy before labor began. Had his rough treatment during delivery damaged her beyond repair? Had he performed his job appropriately? These were questions that would arise after our heads had time to clear. At the time we were clouded with grief. It would have been cruel not to grant the vet permission to end Lucy's suffering. But had he caused her suffering? Had his rough treatment during delivery damaged her beyond repair?
After John Youngberg DVM had finished killing Lucy, he came up to the house to check on the kids. The doelings had become even more important, now that Lucy had given her life for them. Youngberg examined each kid. Suddenly he produced a syringe. Alarmed, I asked what was in the syringe. "Vitamins," he replied. "I'm just going to give them a little boost," he said, as he set Shiloh on the floor. "She's not going to like this." He shot approximately half of the contents into Shiloh's tiny body and set her aside. He shot the rest of it into Phaedra's back.
"The veterinarian just killed our goats," I told him. We never saw our babies again. John Youngberg DVM called the next morning to say that they had "passed during the night".
After killing Shiloh and Phaedra, Dr. John Youngberg requested permission to send their dead bodies to the University of Minnesota for autopsy. "We know what killed them, John..." I said bitterly. "I'm really disappointed in their reaction [to the shot]," he said. In their reaction? Like it was their fault! He said that there would be no cost to us for the autopsy. I knew he would try to find some other explanation for their deaths. He wouldn't admit that his incompetence was the cause. Bad vets never do. He couldn't even say he was sorry. We received no report or autopsy results. In fact, we didn't hear from John Youngberg again until his bill arrived, complete with $118 charge for the autopsy he had said he wouldn't charge us for.
I called the clinic. The vet called me back. He admitted that the $118 lab fee was a "mistake", the only mistake he would ever admit to, and only because it wasn't his mistake but one made by an "office girl". (She also put the wrong dates on the bill.) Dr. John Youngberg said that the kids, referring to them as "the big one" and "the little one" (he never even remembered the names of his patients) both died from something internally wrong with them, and not from the shots he gave that sent them wheeling into fatal shock. Something about liver failure... Well, duh! And what do you suppose caused their little livers to fail? He told me that he had pulled them through their crisis and that they had completely recovered from the effects of the shot he gave them. It was later, he said, that they both took a turn for the worst and succumbed to whatever else was internally wrong with them. Apparently he was unaware that I had talked to his "office girl", who informed me that the kids were still unable to hold their heads up, let alone stand. I was sure that Youngberg was lying now. Dr. John Youngberg did not send us a copy of the autopsy report. When I refused to accept his (pardon me) bullshit, he told me that lack of collostrum was what killed the kids. He couldn't explain what killed "the nanny". He got a little testy with me.
Lucy, an exotic Angora Doe Current Market Value: $300 Shiloh, an exotic Pygora doeling Current Market Value: $300 Phaedra, an exotic Pygora doeling Current Market Value: $300 Burial for Lucy (backhoe and jack hammer) Cost: $150 Total: $1,050 This does not include fleece @ $12-15 per ounce, bi-annual shearings for several years.
John Youngberg DVM got mad at me. He was obviously disappointed in my reaction to his lack of veterinary skill. Yes, I was upset that he killed my goats. I was disappointed that he turned out to be such an incompetent (pardon-my-language) asshole. He is certainly not a man you want to disagree with. Don't cross him. Adding insult to injury, President Youngberg DVM sent me a letter of banishment, making sure that I can no longer get veterinary services for any of my animals. I have been banned from the services of eleven veterinarians in three cities. I was black-balled.
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Copyright ©2004 - 2006 |
As he gave Phaedra
the shot, Shiloh fell on her
face, her little body crumpled in a heap, her eyes blank. Phaedra collapsed
beside her and stopped breathing. Lucy's precious little babies were dead! The
look on the vet's face said it all - a very big oops! Frantic, I grabbed one little body while the vet
grabbed the other. We desperately tried to resuscitate them. We got both kids breathing again, however
they were unconscious and limp. They were barely clinging to life. Youngberg took Shiloh and Phaedra with him, stating
that he'd take them to the clinic and get them on oxygen. As the vet hustled our
babies away, Curt looked at me in horror and shouted, "What the hell just
happened?!"
