My dog Toby was not acting right so i took him in to Tulsa Animal Emergency clinic on Monday, July 26th.
They told me to have Toby get on the scale to be weighed then after he did that he stop walking so the employee took him back to the Vet.
Then the employee came back out and asked me if i had money or not, i said i did.
A little later the vet came out and said that Toby needed to be kept overnight and that the appointment that I had with the other heart vet would be moved up till in the morning and that the other vet would contact me in the morning and tell me about Toby going on a diet and medication to monitor his heart murmer.
The vet told me i could go ahead and go home as Toby would be monitored throughout the night and the other vet would contact me in the morning.
The employee told me i would have to pay deposit of 403.59 as they would be keeping him all night. I paid it. She also asked me if i wanted CPR done if it become neccassary and I said yes.
As soon as I got home the vet office called and said Toby was dead and asked if i wanted to continue CPR i asked if it would do any good and she said stuff was coming out of his nose so i said to stop.
She then said I know this is a bad time but you have a balance due of (aprox) 75.00 dollars that needs to be paid NOW. I told her to send me a bill or i would go in later and pay it, she said NO it needs to be paid TONIGHT.
She had no concern if i was even emotionally stable eneough to drive back down that instant, all they cared about was the money.
A couple days later i went down to pay the rest and talk to the vet. I told the vet i did not understand how it went from the apointmet was in the morning to your dog is dead, especially since he was alert when i brought him in.
One of the things the vet said was we didnt try putting him on a diflabator. I didnt know anything about a diflibator i didnt know when i said stop CPR that meant they couldnt have tried something else?
I also found out that the other vet not assiciated with them but in teh same office had a heart machine locked up but she doesnt allow them to use it.
After i paid the remaining i recieved a itemized statement in the mail per my request.
I found out from 12:35am till 1:10am they did NOTHING and the dogs TOTAL time was in there less than one hour.
500 Dollars for one hour! Then i notice a half half hour of that they did nothing. This seems exessive!
Money is at the heart of any bad vet behaviour in my view or at least it has a major influence. And I mean chasing money...! Prioritising money over welfare and this is a modern phenomenon.
It makes you wonder if Toby was already dead or they knew he was the same as dead when they came out and asked me if i had money because they didnt do anything for the first half hour. They may have just wanted to be able to collect some money.
In my opinion, At best, extremely poor and heartless bed side manners. At worst, just evil greedy veterniarn practice that didnt care anything for Toby just wanted the money. Their response:
The complainant did present Toby to our clinic at the time/date specified in their original filing. What they failed to mention is that their pet was diagnosed with a heart condition approx. 1 year previously.in fact they had an appointment with a specialist within the following two days for continued evaluation of the heart problem.
Their patient did indeed deteriorate rapidly after being admitted, put contrary to their assertion supportive treatment was provided. Toby was provided with oxygen therapy in the ICU unit. X-rays were taken to determine the cause of the respiratory distress and he was allowed to received oxygen for approx. 1/2 hour prior to being handled or stressed. Appropriate diuretic medication was administered to help alleviate fluid accumulation in the lungs.
Toby did indeed experience arrest and passed away, however he had significant underlying heart disease. No warranty of outcome is ever present in medicine, especially on a patient with a chronic condition. While Toby's passing is sorrowful, we did not act in any "excessive" manner as asserted, and I can assure you that Toby was "not already dead" when the financial discussion took place.
A copy of the medical records will be faxed to support this response.
My rebuttal:
There records confirm what i was saying.By there there own addmission and records they waited a half hour to treat a dog who was having a heart attack which was ridiculous. There excuse is they didnt want to stress the dog.
This would be the same as a someones mother going to the emergency room and the doctor coming out and saying we arent going to treat your mother who is having a heart attack because it might stress her however we are giving her oxegen.
There response would be comical had not someone died.
They immediatly took x-rays which is the only thing they did right, then they should have immediatly began treatment.
I would like a copy of the x-rays.
After the half hour of sitting on there thumbs it appears as soon as they handled the dog he almost immediatly died.
They did nothing for Toby in the first half hour except give him some oxegen and as the saying goes, oxegen is the only thing in life thats free.
Instructions for treating a dog who is having a heart attack from WebWire "Veterinarians diagnose heart failure in dogs by testing their heart rhythm and blood pressure as well as conducting more in-depth cardiograms, which record you dog's heart activity. Treatment for heart failure is often costly and complex with your pet having to be hospitalized, being put on a drip, and taking a cocktail of drugs, which allow its heart to recover and function better in the future"
THEY DID NONE OF THIS!!! Yet they had at leats a half hour!!! All they did was give him some freakin oxegen during the first half hour by there own addmission and take an x-ray!
NO TESTING HEART RYTHEM
NO CARDIGRAM
NO DRIP
NO COCKTAIL OF DRUGS
I could understand it being expensive and would have been more than happy to pay whatever had they done these things intially. No where on the world wide web can i find anyone or any place that says to let the dog stay on oxegen for 35 minutes while you sit and do nothing.
If they can find ANY reputable website anywhere in the world that states that i will drop my compliant immediatly!
They have never responded to my rebuttal!
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