Is this just a coincidence?

Question
I took my dog to the vet's on February 1st to get his annual shots. Once we got him home he began to urinate in the house constantly. We called the vet and they said they had given him a steroid shot (without asking us if it was ok). They said he would have excessive thirst and might urinate more frequently and it should go away within 10 days. So, I waited 14 days and he was still urinating, so I called them back and they told me now it could last up to 6 weeks. I was going to wait it out and see if things got any better, which they never did. Then Friday February nth my dog was still urinating constantly and now he was vomiting. I called the vet and they got me in yesterday.  They told me my dog was severely dehydrated and had pancreitis and would have to stay the weekend. Then, today they call me back and told me to pray that he would last through the night because, he had bleeding ulcers and they couldn't keep his blood pressure up. After about  2 hours they call me back and tell me that he passed away and now the reason being e coli. We're still waiting on autopsy results. So, would you please tell me if this is all a coincidence or could it be a cause of the steroid shot, considering he was perfectly healthy and normal before going to the vet the first time?  

Answer
Wow this is a hard one. I am so sorry to hear that this happened.
I find it hard to believe that a steroid shot could do this but I have seen stranger things.

I really don't know to be honest with you but this is what I see. First of all, I find it hard to believe a vet would give a steroid shot without telling you. I would ask why it was given and why you weren't told. Did you look at the bill? From my experience it is hard to remember every thing the vet told you once you leave the office.We are told that we only remember 17% of what the vet said as opposed to 35% of what is written down.

He may have told you that he gave it and why but you forgot. Now I don't know why you keep waiting once he was urinating all over the place. A steroid shot can last for weeks but something else must have started causing him to get sick in the meantime.

I can see a steroid shot causing ulcers if he had been given too much or had been given it repeatedly. That doesn't seem to be the case. How did the vet determine that the dog died of E Coli poisoning? Tests would have to be run to know that.

If I were you and you were concerned about all of this, then contact the Veterinary Medical Board in your state and ask them to do an investigation. The vet has to cover his tracks with written records and you have to prove that you weren't told about this injection. You may also have to prove that the dog didn't get into something else in the meantime.

The VMB will contact the vet and go over the records and evidence to see if what the vet did was wrong. You won't have to pay for it but if the vet was in the wrong you will be saving other animals from malpractice.
Not every vet is perfect so it takes someone willing to go the length of an investigation to see what really happened.

I wish you luck and peace and am really sorry to hear about this.