Stupid Vet- Neutering

MoneyM

Am SOOO mad here and would just like some advice-

My dog (bitch) got spayed yesterday and when I went to collect her the Vet said that it was a big deal for her and that it took him a while to do the Op as she was still in heat (hubby had brought her down to him two weeks before and he said it was fine to do the Op then as she’d be out of heat???? I questioned this as I knew it wouldn’t only take 2 weeks, but he assured us it was fine)

When I went to pay the bill it had jumped from €136 to €261!!! He said he was charging us an extra €60 as she was still in heat and over €60 on pain killers and antibiotics as the Op was more than he though it would be.

Now don’t get me wrong I’d have paid whatever for the dog and REALLY don’t mind paying but I am fuming with the Vet that he spayed her and put her under a HORRIBLE operation with VERY bad complications (dog is on 2 different antibiotics and pain killers) instead of just leaving her until she was out of season.

My poor furry baby is still crying with the pain!

MsFifers

That is really unacceptable. The vet should have phoned you in advance of the operation if it was going to have all those extra complications - or did s/he not realise that the dog was in heat???!

If it was me I think I'd write a formal complaint and ask for the additional costs to be waived - as it seems to me that it was all completely avoidable, and that your dog is now in distress because of it all. I presume you didn't tell the vet there was an urgency to getting the op. done?

However - I will say here that I know nothing about vetinary procedures - so maybe check with another vet to confirm that the whole thing could have been avoided by doing the operation at a later date.

MoneyM

I brought the dog down to the Vet two weeks ago as she was suppose to get spayed then, but he said he couldn't do it as she was in heat and to come back in two weeks (yesterday) and he'd do it then, IF he'd have told me I'd have waited until after Christmas so as to make sure she was WELL out of heat as I wouldn't have put her through that operation as she was still bleeding when we left her in.

Only now do I know you can't Operate on a dog that is in heat.....


Can I have my dog spayed while she's in heat?

Answer It's possible to spay a dog during estrus, or heat, but it's not the best time. Most veterinarians prefer not to spay a dog in estrus because the uterine tissue can be swollen, fragile, and more prone to damage. Dogs also have a tendency to bleed more when they're in heat. Because of this, estrus makes surgery more risky for dogs, as well as for cats.

Most veterinarians prefer to delay spaying a dog until she has been out of estrus for a month or so. And, since a recently spayed dog may still be attractive to males, performing the surgery during heat won't do anything to keep the neighbors' dogs out of your yard. The best thing for your dog's health is to keep her safe inside for now and to have your veterinarian perform surgery in a month or so.

Am hoping mad that he put my lovely little girl through an op like that and IF he'd have waited another month it mightened have been so bad on her.

Anybody know were I can report this HORRIBLE vet?:mad:

Jules

I have pm'd you with details.

Hope your little girlie is ok.

MsFifers

Vetinary Council of Ireland
http://www.vci.ie/index.cfm/loc/12

It would be necessary for you to go through their Code of Practice for vets and find the section which might outline where your vet breached the Council's standards. So - a bit of reading for you to do!

I would suggest as a first step to write to the vet and outline your complaint, and ensure that you put in writing the advice he gave you to bring the dog back in 2 weeks.

sn00ps

MoneyM

I think I might have met you that night (you have a yorkie I think?) .. my guy was having a similar op. He too has been howling in pain which is odd as the last dog I had went through the same surgery with a little discomfit but no where near what we're going through now. I called after the surgery on Friday evening after the op saying he seemed in a lot of pain and the nurse told me it would only last a day or two. When I went back on Monday for his checkup I had to ask for pain killers but was told it's not usually necessary!! I insisted.. He is now much happier and is lying beside me sleeping .. finally!

I have dealt with this particular vet for a long time with a multiple of different pets and the criticism I would have with him specifically is his attitude to owners and total lack of consideration for the human element of the team visiting him.

He should have contacted you before the operation and notified you that the dog was in heat and gave you the option explaining the implications.

My last dog sadly left us in March and they had a fabulous lady vet at the same practice who was so sympathetic and helpful with all we went through. She left shortly after as do a lot of the other vets who work there. Not sure what that implies ...

I actually try not to attend surgery when he is in attendance as the rest of the staff are really great and I have had no problems with them.

It's always upsetting when our babies are ill and having gone through this once already this year, it's heartbreaking again. Thank God it will soon be over and we wont have to worry about the unwanted pregnancies and in our case a jack the lad .. hopefully over the years I'll forget about it!

My heart goes out to you .. keep her warm and don't hesitate to bring her back to the surgery if you are in doubt .. ask for one of the other vets. They aren't all bad.

I hope she feels better soon (and you)

Sn00ps

Rogueish

Your poor poor baby. I hope that she gets better soon.

houndsoflove

Hi Money M i hope your poor little girl gets well soon. I really think you should report this vet or even go to court! Its a disgrace that he put your dog at risk, the results could have been more tragic, and even now she won't be too happy going into veterinary clinics again. I would say this vet has being a vet for 20yrs or so and has an ego problem by the sounds of it, he thinks he knows it all. This is probably the reason the other vets are leaving the clinic, they can't put up with him!

I worked in veterinary clinics so i know all about the vets with egos, they think they're it and above all the other staff. What might have happened with this vet is he decided to do the operation to 'get it over with' and then found the operation was more complicated and more time consuming than he thought so rather than stopping the operation and loosing money he went ahead with it and charge you extra for his time and him doing a risky operation! :mad: You and snoops should get together and report him. There could be more people out there with complaints. Its a disgrace anyway.

Mcloke

Hello,
I know only too well how important it is to have a vet that understands the importance of animals in peoples lives and can also communicate. We lost our baby almost two months ago, our vets were wonderful through her entire life, we moved to her vet on recommendation and thats is what I recommend you both do. See what complaint you may be able to make against this vets practices and also get a new vet, we traveled a reasonable distance to our vet but it was worth every minute for the better treatment we all received
I hope your girl and boy are both doing ok!
Marie

MoneyM

Sn00ps yea that was me with my poor little Yorkie, I swear I got a dog half dead home that evening I cried all the way home in the car as the dog was howling (have her a year and she's NEVER been like this at all..... EVER) the dog is on 2 different pain killers and also on antibiotics ….

I couldn't even leave the room that night and she hasn't left my side (had my MIL ear marked to look after her as she has had LOADS of dogs and knows better than me about what to do) but she had to ring me and tell me to come home as the dog was sooo bad I've been sitting under her now and can see her slowing coming around had to keep my hubby from going down to the vet as he was going to kill him when he seen her as the Vet TOLD him to come back in two weeks and NEVER told him the probs of spaying her when she was in heat....and there would have been NO WAY on earth I’d have left her in now IF he did inform me…what a B*stard

I have a complaint letter wrote and am going to send it to the Vet and also to the Veterinary Council of Ireland and see if they can do anything to “help” this f*cker and stop him doing this to another poor animal….

MsFifers

Best of luck with it - this guy sounds like an arrogant little git who needs sanction.

Will you post again with any replies or responses you get? I'd be very interested to hear how the Veterinary Council deals with complaints like this?

Hope your little girlie is on the mend. The poor thing!

luckat

Poor little dog. Sounds like you need to change vets all right.

As for the costs, vet prices seem to have *shot* up in the last couple of years. I brought my cat to the vet a week after Hallowe'en because he'd been fighting, and he was on a drip for a couple of hours, and had a series of blood tests, and was sent home with some pills for a few days, plus my dog got her normal vaccination - that lot cost €260, or 74% of what I earned that week.

The next week I brought him in for his vaccinations, and the dog for the vet to have a look at her again because she was a bit dawny. The vet treated both with Stronghold for fleas, vaccinated the cat and gave me tummy pills for the dog - that was €96.

Even the UCD veterinary hospital, which used to treat animals for free as it was using the treatment to teach vets, now charges a paw and a leg for treatment.

Schlemm

MsFifers wrote: »

Best of luck with it - this guy sounds like an arrogant little git who needs sanction.

Will you post again with any replies or responses you get? I'd be very interested to hear how the Veterinary Council deals with complaints like this?

Hope your little girlie is on the mend. The poor thing!

I'd be interested to hear how they handle this too.

MoneyM

Just a small update-

Got a mail back from the VCI and they are sending me out paperwork that I need to fill in regarding there complaints procedures.

Anything else I'll let you all know....

Thanks again for you're replies.