It's now been a little over nine months since I lost my best friend, and I've finally experienced…read moreenough healing to get my story/truth out there, regardless of whatever kind of rebuttal the doctors will have. What I'm sharing are the facts from my vantage point.
I normally take my dogs to the Goddard vet but Shadow was breathing heavily and they couldn't see her for a few days so I took Shadow here. I was told she had arthritis and was likely in some pain which was causing her heavy breathing. Shadow was put on Carprofen, a somewhat "risky" medication, which required blood work after two weeks just to ensure that there were no negative reactions.
Shadow seemed to be doing better until she jumped off my bed and landed wrong on a Sunday morning. I had read online that if there is only a sprain, the dog will not bear weight on the leg for about 48 hours, and if the dog is still not bearing weight after 48 hours to take the dog to the vet. So, Wednesday morning I fed Shadow her normal full amount of food and gave her the Carprofen and took her in to get her leg checked out. (Up until this point, other than limping, Shadow was eating, drinking, pooping, smiling, and acting normal other than the limp.)
The doctor insisted that she needed to be put under anesthesia for the x-ray, and being the type of person I "used to be," I didn't question it. I did tell them several times that Shadow had a full breakfast plus her "risky" Carprofen med since I had no idea they would be putting her under to get an x-ray of the leg (or else I wouldn't have fed her or given her the medication). They said it was fine.
When I came to pick Shadow up later that day, she never ate or drank again. She started vomiting the following evening so I took her in first thing Friday morning. About two hours (& $700) later I got a call from the doctor telling me to come back immediately because Shadow was actively dying. That was, and still is the worst day of my life. I experienced a kind of trauma beyond what I ever thought I could handle, and just two weeks shy of her 9th birthday.
I had Shadow scheduled for ACL surgery (the x-ray showed she tore her ACL) in OKLAHOMA for the following Tuesday, because the doctors told me that my only options to get her surgery done were in Manhattan or OK City. Later I found out my own vet in GODDARD does the same surgery, as well as many other vets around the area. I believe that they didn't want to lose my business because I would pay and do whatever necessary for my dogs; my dogs are my kids.
A month or so after Shadow passed so unexpectedly and in such a terrible manner (fever was 106 and she was suffering so I had to make the awful decision to euthanize her, which is a moment so painful that I will never forget it), I called with my questions and demanded some answers. There was an excuse for everything from "Shadow was not well before she came in for the x-ray" to "The vets around here aren't qualified enough to do the ACL surgery" to "Having a full stomach and taking the medication had nothing to do with her reaction to the anesthesia."
All I can say is that she was acting completely NORMAL until she went in for that x-ray, torn ACL and all.
To top it off, I had taken my other dog, Bear, to this hospital in August (a month after I had first taken Shadow in) because she was coughing so bad. She was given an antibiotic and narcotics, even though the report said that "upon palpation of the throat Bear coughed." This coughing went on for well over a month until Shadow passed and I knew I'd never go back there again so I took Bear to get a second opinion. (Even when I had called a few weeks later stating Bear was still coughing hard, there was no mention of an x-ray to see if there was an underlying problem.) Immediately when I took Bear to another vet and upon palpation of the throat, the vet suspected tracheal collapse. This was confirmed via a simple x-ray and since then Bear has been on the medication she needs and is doing better. Unfortunately, this condition is irreversible and Bear coughed for nearly two months longer than she should have, which collapsed her trachea more and more, and now I can't even take her on walks because she will have coughing attacks.
I would not recommend this establishment to anyone. Every time I went the bill was several hundred dollars and the care was obviously subpar. My takeaway is that I've now learned to ALWAYS ask for a second opinion, and when my gut instincts don't feel right about something (like the anesthesia for the leg x-ray on a full stomach), I will not just trust the expert/doctor.
Like I mentioned earlier, there will definitely be a rebuttal in an attempt to protect their reputation, but what I have stated is the 100% truth of what I experienced. I am thankful that I have finally spoken up and shared my story. I believe it's Shadow's way of letting the right person read this before making a horrible mistake like I did.
