Canine Munchausen's by Proxy - Page 1

This has been described in the literature and is not different from the form where mothers repeatedly make ill or injure their children to attract attention and sympathy for themselves. I suggest you ask your friend to bring this concern to the attention of the people he/she works for. After all, they are the only ones who really can do much about it, including involving the authorities, if necessary.

i have had experience of this with an owner of one of my pups last year ...IT WAS HELL....

first the pup had a gay tail then a twisted spine then  ,HD ,ED, mange, parvo HOD and numerous other conditions this caused us great concern. 

i was told if i didn't pick the pup up within a week i could get him out of this guy 's freezer so off i went and got my baby back. 

he had been crated in a very small crate (not tall enough to stand up in) and had lost all his muscle he had problems walking and had obviously received little / no training and was very dominant. 

he stayed with us for several months and was tested by the vet for all the above mentioned conditions, and guess what all clear.    

his legs have been twisted and don't look quite right but he is loving his new life and his new owners adore him and he is coming back shortly for a holiday.cant wait.

my advice to your friend is to report it to the RSPCA and ask the vet to do so also.

please feel free to PM me if you want any help

Tracie.

on his last day before i re-homed him.

I sold a bitch puppy to a lady who lived in the same town as myself some 17 years ago, a decision I came to bitterly regret. She had three other crossbred dogs, a couple of cats and several rabbits which she had 'rescued'. She seemed very caring and totally plausible and also ran a small dog training class from home. Even the vet referred clients to her for advice on behaviour.

I soon came to realise that she was a very frequent visitor to the vet as, at that time, we owned a shop which was next door to her vet. Hardly a day went by (sometimes twice a a day) without one of her animals requiring treatment and it was not long before the puppy which she had from me, was also a very frequent visitor, starting with relatively minor problems.

The pup weighed over 40 kg by 5 months of age and went on to develop hip dysplasia and several operations followed at the expense of the insurance company. The bitch remained overweight, despite my constant advice to keep her slim. She apparently went on to develop EPI, although it didn't seem to cause any loss of weight! She had investigations for chronic skin problems, anal gland problems resulting in the removal of her anal glands, along with several other obscure complaints.

By now, I was very concerned about the welfare of the bitch and indeed, the rest of her animals. I spoke to her vet, only to be told that 'she obviously cares about her animals'. The bitch then apparently developed serious temperament changes, although this was not apparent when I insisted on seeing her. She was put to sleep shortly before her fourth birthday and I was told the diagnosis was schizophrenia! Apart from the upset of this young dog being killed prematurely, I felt very frustrated that the vet seemed to have been taken in by this woman.

I would suggest your friend contacts the RSPCA or possibly the RCVS and have the matter investigated further. If this persons' dogs are insured, perhaps her insurance company may be interesed?

I hope this helps,

Katrina

Hi

Just for information -

Vets and veterinary nurses need to contact the RCVS before the RSPCA, in order to seek their advice as to whether a cruelty case is serious enough to break client confidentiality.

This may seem odd, but the last thing we want to do is put off people when their pets may be desperately in need of veterinary help.

It is actually much easier for someone outside of the veterinary profession to report suspected cruelty cases to the RSPCA.

Nicola (VN).

I am very concerned about this matter, it refers to someone in the UK, and it has affected and is affecting young GSD's. This matter should be reported immediately to the RSPCA for investigation, as well as the British Veterinary Association (BVA). They will surely know how to handle such a situation in a sensitive but positive manner. I keep reading the following sentence from the first post above, and thinking about a helpless young GSD. 
"This has happened with several of her dogs over the years, which become ill with conditions that are really unusual, often resulting in the dog being put to sleep at a very young age."

As a professional working previously in child protection, I have sadly encountered Munchasuen's by Proxy on more than one occasion, which led me to completing further research on this syndrome. It is recognised as being a risk to both children and/or pets.

I replicate an article here from The Canadian Veterinary Journal (2006) which I feel is an easy-to-read article and highlights the difficulties in managing this syndrome. 

I have taken the liberty of highlighing in red what I feel are the key issues.   

Most practitioners maintain some definition of what they consider the ideal client, and for Dr. Haggarty, Marilyn Safer sums it up perfectly. In addition to listening attentively to the veterinarian, Ms. Safer also asks intelligent questions that reflect an understanding of the subject in question. She also makes it clear that she has the utmost faith in Dr Haggarty’s ability: “Don’t even think about ever referring us,” she tells the veterinarian with certainty, “If anyone can solve this problem, you can.” The clinician basks in these compliments as well as the belief that her client religiously follows all veterinary recommendations to the letter. What more could any practitioner ask for?

When Dr. Haggarty first conceived her ideal-client definition as a veterinary student, and even after she modified it somewhat when she entered the real world of practice, the net result of the interaction between such a client and the veterinarian was always the same: the resolution of the animal’s problem. However, in the case of Ms. Safer’s animal, that never happens. The animal’s condition may improve and it may even disappear for a while, but it always comes back. Because of her genuine desire to help the animal and relieve the burden this places on her very nice client, Dr. Haggarty spends long hours trying to determine the cause of the problem and how to treat it. When she can’t sleep at night, she thinks about the case: What is she missing? What additional tests might pin down the cause? What treatment might work better? Because Ms. Safer has some medical training herself, she is always receptive to the veterinarian’s ideas, as well as being very grateful for Dr. Haggarty’s concern. Nonetheless, the animal’s problem never resolves. Soon the veterinarian feels so sorry for this wonderful client and her poor animal that she gives Ms. Safer her private cell phone number, “in case something comes up on my day off or while I’m on vacation.”

The above vignette touches on the primary characteristics of a rare, but highly troubling, client-clinician interaction called Munchausen by Proxy (MBP). Named after the notorious liar, 18th century German soldier Baron von Munchausen, this condition was first described in 1977 in the human pediatric and psychiatric literature. Parents or guardians who fake or create illnesses in their children to gain and retain attention of physicians and medical staff are defined as being MBP. Most fall into 1 of 3 categories. The doctor addicts believe the child is sick, but report false symptoms to increase clinician attention and response, even if this might harm the child. Paradoxically, these individuals may be very health-conscious themselves and go to extremes to avoid becoming sick. Help seekers may generate or falsify real symptoms and are very grateful and relieved when these are alleviated. For example, they might give a child a purgative, then seek medical