Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Julie Innes — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 22:21:35 GMT

the thing is, how can people "supervise" splintering easily? the dog bites off and swallows a large chunk of bone- how is the owner meant to prevent that? These bones are cooked/ cured, and the manufacturers acknowledge that the risk is there, but I can't really see how the owner is meant to be able to control that risk, other than not giving them the damn things in the first place. In our patient it didn't cause problems until a large chunk reached the rectum, which was lucky(ish) for him, but I have had a lot of comments on my original post saying that other people's dogs needed surgery. I would say the owner being vigilant is not the answer- these things shouldn't really be being sold as dog treats, full stop. If an owner chooses to give their dog a bone from the butcher, or a bone they have cooked that wasn't designed for dogs, that is a different story, but these are being sold as dog treats, which assumes they have been trialled and are safe for dogs...which is apparently not the case

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Niall Taylor — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 09:20:56 GMT

[quote user="Julie Innes"] talk about a bone of contention![/quote]

Groan!!!

Your post has made me look out for these treats and we saw one in Tesco's yesterday which actually had quite a comprehensive warning on it about the risks of splintering and how it must only be used under supervision and so forth. I was most impressed!

Cheers,

Niall

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Bob Russell — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 21:30:03 GMT

It may not stop them trying to throw their weight around but ultimately they will get little or no compensation or damages. Perhaps slightly careless wording on my part.

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Julie Innes — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 19:08:13 GMT

well, I'm hoping having removed the name of the store from the post (and lots of people commenting have commented that they have seen/ bought similar from other stores) it is clear that it is the product I am taking issue with, rather than the place it was bought. Also the store, although a large chain (think "bargain") , sell a huge variety of stuff, so hopefully it wouldn't be a big issue for them- it's not like it's a pet store or anything. I found quite a few low-cost stores selling similar when I was in town today, which I guess makes it even more important to get the message across. And although I mentioned the shop where our client bought the bone in the original post, I didn't make any kind of derogatory comment about them, or say anything other than that such things weren't suitable treats for dogs, so hopefully we won't be sued (gulp!)

On the plus side, as mentioned above, it has obviously raised our profile considerably- lots of new "likes" and lots of queries about registering with us/ people messaging to ask questions etc, so can't be all bad...

talk about a bone of contention!

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 14:02:38 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]

If you have been truthful and given a fair representation of events then even the biggest company will be unable to do much to you!

[/quote]

While I'm no solicitor, my uncle is - and believe me, this is (with all due respect) completely incorrect. Sadly.

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Bob Russell — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 10:53:16 GMT

I loath facebook with a vengeance and rarely dare post anything. We have a very small number of people locally that wake up and write nasty things about the practice (me really) despite having little contact with us in the first place or none for years.

If you have been truthful and given a fair representation of events then even the biggest company will be unable to do much to you! If it gets out of hand and they threaten you let us know and we can all contribute to the thread and put them in their place!

Facebook works both ways!!!

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Cat Henstridge — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 21:55:38 GMT

One positive is that from a publicity point of view this will be fantastic for your practice! Have the 'likes' on your page gone up? We had a post go viral in a similar fashion, in the end it was seen by over 250,000 people and we have well over 100 new likes on the page.

Also, from your average pet owners point of view this will be seen as a good thing (as evidenced by all the shares and comments) and will reflect very well on the business. Obviously not all quarter of a million people will be local but a significant proportion will be!

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Julie Innes — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 21:34:28 GMT

Wow, Lorna- it's really stunned me how quickly these things can spread- lesson learned! I really hope nothing comes of it, feel a bit of an idiot now . As I said, usually my posts reach a max of 100-200 people!

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Lorna McHardy — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 21:08:56 GMT

The post turned up in my newsfeed.... I thought the name looked familiar. Hope nothing nasty comes of it. Warning people against feeding cooked bones is basically a Good Thing, after all.

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Julie Innes — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 20:45:52 GMT

Thanks guys! I have deleted the name of the store- people had mentioned below it that they were sold in other places too. Just left a picture of the bone in question, in its packaging, and warned people of the risks of cooked/ cured bones. They are definitely being sold as dog treats- "Natural" parma bones (cured). A fair few people have responded to the post saying that their dogs have also had problems with them. Hoping the store in question didn't see it- that'll teach me to think I don't have that wide an audience! Funnily enough, my posts about impending charity shows etc never seem to attract this much attention...

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

An On MRCVS — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 20:42:43 GMT

I'd like to second the warning about naming specific names. Recently a friend of mine was nearly taken to court for malicious libel because he mentioned (on facebook) a certain company that makes over the counter flea control. You know, the ones that contain permethrin that could potentially cause cats to snuff it. His fatal mistake was mentioning a company name (let's call them Robert) who went after him with both guns blazing and it cost him a nice chunk in legal fees. He had to post a 'clarification' on facebook as well.

(You may notice that International Cat Care started an anti-permethrin campaign and have gone extremely quiet in their campaign as well. They were also threatened with a lawsuit.)

It's not likely that a small butcher will sue you for loss of trade, but if you mention a big company's product in connection with your business and they decide they want to 'teach you a lesson' - it is going to be frighteningly expensive.

Do not, do not, do not, do not mention names on social media, you are legally (there is plenty of case precedent and law) responsible for it and the effects.

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Francisco Gomez — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 20:07:46 GMT

[quote user="Julie Innes"]

Oh dear, thanks Francisco . I just didn't expect it to go so far... I will edit the post to delte the name of the shop- think I can do that.

[/quote] No probls, hope everything goes well for you at the end. :-)

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Niall Taylor — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:57:33 GMT

If the store gave the bone to the owner specifically for the dog then they have to take some responsibility for the consequences. If the owner bought a Parma ham for herself (Mmmmmm!) and gave the dog the bone that was left then she has no case to complain to the store.

Still, naming that specific store was probably a bit much - I'd defo edit the post to remove the name and make it clear these "treats" are available from a wide variety of outlets and no one store should be held individually responsible.

It's so easy to get drawn into these things, especially with a "campaigning" owner (and one who has clearly never tasted the delights of real ham stock - giving it to the dog is a culinary crime of the highest order)!

It'll be fine.

Cheers,

Niall

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Julie Innes — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:53:10 GMT

Oh dear, thanks Francisco . I just didn't expect it to go so far... I will edit the post to delte the name of the shop- think I can do that.

Re: Facebook- could I be in trouble?

Francisco Gomez — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:41:19 GMT

I don't think you should've mentioned the shop in your post. At the end of the day, you don't know how the conversation went between the shop keeper and the owner. Helping warn clients is one thing, but there you can be responsible for the shop unwanted publicity. Remove/edit the post and contact VDS at once!