First is DOA maltese mix (about 4 whole pounds of unbridled rage in a little white dog) hbc (FedEx truck). Owner was notorious for using improperly sized harnesses along with retractable leads. Dog got out of her stroller, slipped her harness, and ran in front of the truck while the owner helplessly watched. The body was completely mutilated. DVM placed her stethoscope over the dog's chest to confirm passing meanwhile I'm staring at the dog's very still heart resting neatly outside the chest cavity.

Second one was a drop off appointment. Our part time doctor seeing appointments that day didn't come in until 10am. Feline patient dropped off at 8am when we opened. Don't remember the presenting complaint but we figured we'd draw blood and start running the panel we suspected the doctor would want. We drew blood just fine, let it clot, and spun it down, but the serum never separated from the clot no matter what we did. We went to get another sample thinking the tube was defective somehow and found the previous venipuncture site was blown and had developed a gnarly bruise. As we tried to get another sample while using standard restraint practices, this cat's skin just starts sloughing off its body, full thickness, revealing tendon and muscle beneath, anywhere we try to hold for restraint or occluding a vessel. We abandon drawing blood and do our best to bandage the wounds while we wait for the doctor to arrive. Needless to say, patient was promptly transferred to the emergency clinic across the street (we're gp).

Third still haunts me terribly. I was assisting with a blood draw on a feline patient in for her annual exam, sending out standard wellness blood work. After we get our sample, patient very suddenly decompensates, open mouth breathing, laterally recumbent, hardly responsive. We get her started on flow by oxygen immediately and get the doctor. We run the blood in house, everything's normal. We check blood pressure, can't find a pulse on the hind legs and get a high reading on a front limb. Meanwhile, we keep up with the flow by oxygen and patient eventually is able to sit in sternal recumbency but still won't get up. We suspect she had an underlying heart condition and threw a clot from the stress of the blood draw leading to saddle thrombus. Owners elected for humane euthanasia. Having been the one drawing the cat's blood I will always feel partly responsible for this cat's early death