In 1996, Marc Bluestone brought another blessed gift from God into his life—a beautiful female golden labrador mix puppy, which he brought home from a pet adoption facility. The bond between the puppy and Marc was soon apparent. Marc named her Shane, after his favorite Western movie, due to the outstanding values displayed in the movie. With Shane, Marc’s life was blessed with PURE LOVE. As he stated, “She is part of me and I am part of her in the true spirit of the word.”
On January 13, 1999, due to epileptic seizures that Shane (then three years old) had been having, Marc's local veterinarian recommended that Marc take Shane to one of the largest specialty veterinarian hospitals in the country, which was located in Orange County. Marc was told that this was the only specialty vet hospital in the Southern California area and that it was the closest one with a board-certified neurologist. These statements were totally false, as Marc later found out after Shane was killed. In fact, the primary doctor for Shane at this hospital wasn’t even a neurologist. He had an “interest” in neurology. Once Shane was admitted to the hospital, Marc was told that Shane would be kept at the hospital for just one day to evaluate and minimize her non-life-threatening seizures in order to improve the quality of life for his “baby.”
Driven by loyalty, Marc was determined to pay and do whatever was necessary in order to relieve Shane of her seizures. What happened next was sheer evil, horror, terror, dominoes of evil, and was prompted by greed. Over the next two and a half months, from the beginning and until the end of her stay, Shane was put in numerous mind-boggling, life-threatening health situations and was given 30 drugs, in addition to being given their “treatments.”
Testimony by one of the country's leading expert veterinarian pharmacologists revealed that the 30 different drugs that Shane had been given were by far the most drugs ever given to any animal.
Not only did Marc spend more than $20,000 during Shane’s ordeal at the hospital, for the sake of improving Shane’s health, but he also drove three hours (round trip) each day to be with his precious loved one. Marc spent as many as 10 hours every day by the side of his Shane INSIDE of her cage at the hospital in order to offer his support, comfort and love. According to Marc: “The horror and terror was so bewildering, like dominoes of evil each day. What is happening to her at this hospital? I am always keeping my composure, but it is breaking my heart inside.”
All that was perpetrated upon Shane was under the false pretense of helping her. Before arriving at the hospital she was a perfectly healthy and happy dog except for periodic epileptic seizures that Marc could have lived with and dealt with for the rest of her natural life.
After a few days at the hospital, Shane had developed one of the worst blood clots in her leg. Marc was told that if he took her out of the hospital in this life-threatening condition, she could die at any time. As always, Marc, thinking of his “baby,” had no other place to turn to because of the lies told to him by the people involved. Shane was in various states of life-threatening conditions from that day forward. Marc watched in horror and terror each day as Shane's condition worsened. He kept daily notes on the ordeal and condition of Shane throughout the more than two and a half months Shane spent at the hospital. (Marc has kept, and continues to keep, personal notes on all of his dogs on their health and joy of there daily life.)
On top of the multitude of drugs, they performed radiation treatment on her brain, even though their tests (done twice) had already concluded that she DID NOT have cancer, nor any tumors. Her immune system was totally broken down and her liver was completely destroyed. It was later testified that each of the so-called “treatments” and drugs performed on Shane were, in fact, counter-productive to her health. Marc maintained his composure even though he was being torn apart inside. As Marc states, this is only “the tip of the iceberg” on the sheer evil that was committed. The complete story must be told to the American people so that no part of this evil will happen again to another dog and its loving owner.
A few days prior to what was to become Shane's ultimate release from the hospital, Marc was ordered to sign a liability waiver that relieved the hospital of any and all responsibility at any time past, present or future. Threatened with Shane’s immediate ejection from the only available animal specialty hospital (as Marc was told, but later discovered was false), Marc reluctantly signed the document for fear that Shane would not survive outside the hospital. Ironically, he was told by Shane's primary physician at the hospital that “she's fine now and will be ready to go home in a few days,” knowing that Shane was unable to move at the time and death could occur at any moment.
On the infamous day of April 2, 1999, mere days after Shane returned home, she tragically died and took her last breath in Marc's arms. From the moment when Shane was sent home, she could hardly move or walk and looked completely different, like “death.” In litigation, Marc’s expert said Shane was a walking corpse when sent home.
A three-year-old dog that originally went to a large vet specialty hospital to minimize what had been diagnosed as “non-life-threatening” seizures, Shane was dead less than three months later.