Thank you SO MUCH for this. People expect vets to be PERFECT. And doctors... Oh my lord, especially doctors. Being a vet/doctor/medical anything is the only professions people expect humans to be perfect and throw a lawsuit when they aren't, and it just can't happen. People will make mistakes no matter how hard they try not to. A vet is a person just like you or me.
My old dog had a major issue with his ear - an autoimmune thing that made it extremely painful to open his mouth. Our vet had NO idea what it was, and we spent SO much money trying to figure out what he had. For months we tried, until he figured it out - but it was too late, and he had to be put to sleep. But not long after that, another Mastiff came into the vet with the same issue, and he knew exactly how to treat it. It was awful, and we all wish he could have found it sooner. It was something he had never seen before and he was looking at a jaw infection instead of the inner ear. He had every reason to suspect a jaw issue. Like you said, I bet he will NEVER make that same mistake again, and will double check ear/jaw issues from now on. An awful circumstance but because of it he was able to save the next dog. We still love the vet and go to him even though it's a long drive after moving - he really did go above and beyond for the dog, doing tests and research on his own time that he didn't charge us for, even sending some to other states and overseas.
It's all a matter of finding the right veterinarian. Had he made the same mistake again (like the vet improperly euthanizing several horses) we likely would have not gone back.
