I would give this Dr negative stars if possible!
Dr Kari Traxler saw my dog Bubba on June 8th as a drop off due to excessive panting. Dr Traxler has been focused for the past year in diagnosing Bubba with Cushing's. We did an ultrasound at Jordan in 2025 which indicated no Cushing's and a slightly enlarged spleen and liver. This year on May 18th Bubba had the blood test thing for Cushing's due to elevated levels for his liver. This test also ruled out Cushing's. On June 8th, Bubba had excessive panting and was not acting his normal self. I contacted Hickory Tree to have him seen by Dr Andrew. Unfortunately, Dr Andrew was not working. We dropped off Bubba at approximately 8 am to be seen by Dr. Traxler. Apparently, the phones were not working properly, and we received text messages from a vet tech working with Dr. Traxler. Dr. Traxler wanted to do X-rays on his abdomen. I agreed. Then I received a text saying he needed to go to Jordan for an ultrasound again on his abdomen. I had to respond to ask why as we had already done this last year and we knew about the enlarged spleen and liver but Cushing's has been completely ruled out. That's when we got the response a mass was found. We asked if the ultrasound was going to happen that day and were told they would turn in the order as a STAT request. We then asked if we could pick him up. We went to pick him up and got the phone number for Jordan as we had not heard from them at that time. When Bubba was brought out, he was in far worse distress than when we took him in. Dr. Traxler didn't even bother to speak with us. Bubba was sent out with a tech. In such a case, I do not understand why Dr. Traxler did not pick up her cell phone and call me as Dr Andrew does. There were no follow up instructions other than the ultrasound. I tried calling as soon as we were in the car as Bubba was now struggling to breathe and choking. I could not get thru on the phones as they were still not working. I text multiple times to get follow up instructions. By the time we got home he had slobbered all down is chest and all over the blanket he was laying on. Dr. Traxler did not do anything to stabilize Bubba while under here care and only did the minimum X-rays of his abdomen. I called Carolina Veterinary Specialist to see if they could see him. They said we could bring him right in. Once we were there, we finally got a text back from Hickory Tree via the tech again that told us to give Bubba 3-4 Trazadone every 8 hours. This recommendation is the same amount as current daily prescribed dosage for anxiety. This seemed incredibly inappropriate as this could have caused an overdose. Hickory Tree advised Carolina Vet Specialists that we had brought him in for not eating. This was a blatant lie as it was the panting that we were worried about. They sent the records to Carolina Veterinary Specialists but failed to include the X-rays which caused delays in reviewing all the pertinent information. While we were at Carolina Veterinary Specialists it was discovered that Bubba had fluid on his lungs. We decided to have them keep Bubba overnight and try to drain the fluid for an internist to see him the next day. Before we left, Dr Barringer had finally received the X-rays and wanted to review them with us. We decided to stay the course of treatment unless the fluid drained showed anything concerning. Dr. Barringer called us back to let us know that the fluid was blood and fibrous material which indicated a thoracic mass that had ruptured. At that point, the best option was to let our beloved dog go. Dr Traxler did the minimum of examination and according to the tech that called me that afternoon after we had come home before the fluid was drained in response to a text message sent to them. Dr Traxler acknowledged that she should have checked his lungs as well. This so call Dr had zero compassion and failed to communicate at all with us during this whole ordeal. She is a disgrace to the profession and should not be allowed to treat anyone's pet the way she did ours. This treatment was extremely cruel to our beloved dog and us. We do not want anyone else to experience this. In our opinion, she should be reprimanded at minimum, but we would like her to be fired. read more