A Bellefonte, PA couple is suing a veterinary hospital for losing their prized Rhodesian Ridgeback’s sperm. The couples 7 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback is a former AKC champion and has sired 3 other champions. Since he is aging they wanted to preserve some of his sperm to sell to potential breeders, the going rate for this Ridgeback’s sperm is $1300 dollars.
The couple received a letter from the veterinary hospital stating they experienced a freezer malfunction which led to the loss of their Ridgebacks potential offspring and therefore lots of money in the owner’s pockets. Now to recoup that money the couple is suing the veterinary hospital for $30,000 in damages due to negligence.
This story is being mocked as a frivolous or ridiculous lawsuit but I think this it is a legitimate claim. I have worked for a large medical research facility with literally hundreds and hundreds of deep freezers most of which stored very important samples, cultures, etc. All of these important freezers were equipped with alarms which were monitored by a computer. Anytime the freezers malfunctioned or the temperature was out of the acceptable limits it set off the alarm. If necessary, actions were taken to preserve the contents of the freezer. You would think a veterinary hospital in the business of freezing samples for breeders would have this basic safeguard in place.
Moral of the story, don’t put all of your eggs, I mean swimmers, in one basket. Also, if you are planning on having your pet’s sperm or DNA frozen make sure you check out the facility first and ask questions like, Are your freezers monitored? Do you have a contingency plan in the event of equipment failure or power outage?
Story reported by the Centre Daily Times.
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