On Saturday, August 13th my sister-in-law lost her long time friend, Rozi. She was 1/2 rotweiler (spelling?) and 1/2 german shephard. Rozi died in excrusiating pain, and it didn't have to be that way. The staff at the Auburn After Hours Animal Hospital had everything in their power to prevent this, and because of a money matter, they let her suffer right before their eyes and refused service to the family. More to come on that...
Rozi suffered from what's call "the Bloat", or what's medically known as gastric dilatation and volvulus syndrome. Unfortunately, it's a condition that mainly happens to larger, heavier dogs, where in the bloated stomach, gas and/or food stretches the stomach many times its normal size, causing tremendous abdominal pain. For reasons we do not fully understand, this grossly distended stomach has a tendency to rotate, thus twisting off not only its own blood supply but the only exit routes for the gas inside. Not only is this condition extremely painful but it is also rapidly life-threatening. A dog with a bloated, twisted stomach (more scientifically called "Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus") will die in pain in a matter of hours unless drastic steps are taken.
Cori and her family of 7 children and 1 husband noticed Rozi was acting funny, and then began to vomit (a sign they later learned to look for). They immidately took her to the closest animal care facility that was open 24 hours, the After Hours Animal Emergency Clinic in Auburn.
Now as many of you know, after hours usually means, bring your wallet. It was approaching midnight when Cori and her son Blake walked in the door, and paid the immidate fee of $80. No problem. They then needed to immidiately pay $110 to get an x-ray done. Also, no problem.
The doctor came in to tell them that Rozi had a condition where she fillped her stomach, and the procedure was to, with a syringe, take out the gas, and with a tube that went down her throat, straighten out her stomach.
According to Cori, when it came time to treat, they took their time with making out an estimate, and then running several cards for the $1500 cost. They would not even begin to treat her W/O $1500 right then, even after stating to Cori and Blake (14 years old) that time was precious and she could die if something wasn't done right away.
They watched Rozi deteriorate in front of their own eyes, writhing in pain. Because not many of us walk around with an extra $1500 in cash, the question was asked if when the banks opened up on Monday if they could get it to them then. Please remember, it was in the middle of the night on Saturday. The answer, a resounding NO, and no other options given. When Rozi was brought to the X-ray room, she couldn't walk she was in so much pain. An amazing quickness of the condition, as she was walking when they brought her in the door.
Now, call me naive, but I was under the impression that people who worked in these facilities were there for the humane care of animals. I know doctors take an oath to treat any patient, regardless of their race, creed, or financial situation, in pain or otherwise. I guess I would expect the same thing out of our animal care professionals. The response Cori got? They said the options she had were to put her down, or to go to Tacoma Emergency Clinic.
They arrived in Tacoma shortly after 2:30am, and the technitians INSTANTLY got Rozi back and started working on her. They worked with Cori on the financing and got everything straightened out witin a matter of minutes. The improtant thing to note here is their first concern was the well being and comfort of Rozi.
Cori and Blake were on their way home when Cori received a phone call telling her to pull over. Rozi had passed away, and no matter how much they tried to revive her, she was gone.
Could Rozi have survived if she would have gotten care 2 hours earlier? There is no way to tell for sure, but the statistics show her chances would have been a HELL of a lot better. Rozi's passing has opened my eyes up to a couple of things. I researched this "bloat" condition and found some interesting things out. If you have a larger breed dog, I encourage you to click on this website: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_bloat.html and learn more.
Shame on the Auburn After Hours clinic for putting money over the pain of a dying animal. It is now your responsiblity, having obtained this knowledge, to NOT take your pets to this clinic unless you can walk in and pay the fees up front. Rozi will be greatly missed, but this doesn't have to happen to any more of our pets. Please remember this when your furry loved ones need emergency care. I know the Mitchell's would appreciate it if this message got around to everyone you know who lives around the south King County/North Pierce County area.
Kelly
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