Chances are you’ve had to give devastating news to a pet owner. That person may have reacted calmly or perhaps he or she broke down in tears. Maybe you’ve had clients get angry at you after you’ve given them bad news about their pet. But for Matthew Fry, BVSc, MRCVS, of Quarrington Veterinary Surgery in the United Kingdom, the bad news he gave resulted in a client having a massive heart attack. Lizzie Bevis, 30, was at the veterinarian’s with her mother and sister for a consultation regarding their Jack Russell, Daisy. During the consultation, Bevis “went an awful color,” her sister Christine told Sleaford Standard. Dr. Fry first thought Bevis had just fainted, but quickly realized she had actually had a heart attack. He put her on her back and began conducting CPR while his staff called an ambulance. Luckily, first responders arrived quickly. </center> “They couldn’t believe it when they arrived and had to shock her twice with a defibrillator to bring her back,” Fry told Sleaford Standard. Bevis was rushed to the hospital where she was put in a medically induced coma for two days. She was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, a stress-induced heart condition that could prove fatal. She is recovering, and now has an implanted defibrillator if her heart were to stop again. Bevis is grateful to be alive and is especially grateful to Fry and his staff. Fry told Sleaford Standard, “Obviously doing CPR on an animal is quite important, but the consequences with a person are much more important.”
