I got a yorkie puppy about a month ago. My mom has always wanted one so a friend of ours got her when I was visiting them in Florida and I brought her home to my mom.
Miami, the puppy, was doing some sneezing while I had her in Florida, but when we got home she started doing a lot of coughing. I took her to the vet and her first diagnosis was kennel cough. No big deal, give her antibiotics and ear drops for a yeast infection in her ears and it's all good. I went back a week later (I wanted to schedule it for when her antibiotics were done but the first doctor wasn't available that day). There is one doctor at the office that I had problems with 2 years ago when my cat was very sick so I usually request a specific doctor AND tell them I do not want to see that one doctor. It's even in all of my animals' charts not to give me her. Guess who walks in the room on visit 2. I wasn't happy but didn't make a big deal of it since it was just a recheck, even though, like I said before, I intentionally scheduled the appointment (and clearly stated it to the lady that scheduled me) so I could see the original doctor. I told doctor #2 that the antibiotics weren't working. She said "well you have 2 more days of them just keep giving them". There was no mention of "of she's still coughing in a couple days call and I'll switch or extend", there was absolutely nothing. So I went home and the day she was done with her antibiotics and, surprise surprise, still coughing, I called the office and spoke to a manager. She scheduled me a visit for that evening with no charge for an office visit. I went and they took X-rays (which I believed at the time, and now believe even more so, that they only did that so they could charge me for something) to check for pneumonia. By the way, this was the third different doctor I've seen with her. She didn't have pneumonia but she supposedly did have bronchitis and absolutely no signs of kennel cough. Sent me home with more antibiotics and a prescription for a cough suppressant. This past Friday afternoon I took her back to the vets for a booster and ear recheck. I told doctor #4 that she was still coughing. He basically told me she's a little dog, she will cough, she may outgrow it she may not. Just pat her on the side and stick her in front of a humidifier.
I finally said I'm done and made an appointment with another vet clinic that a coworker of mine had been telling me to go to all along, everytime I told her the latest on what was going on with Miami. Last night we went, I picked up the X-rays from the other vet and had them fax over all her records. By the way, this was the first time I had seen the X-rays, the doctor that took them never showed me them. And as a side note, they knew all along that Miami had been around other dogs including my 2 other dogs who she shared water and food bowls with and a 7 week old puppy, none of which showed any kind of symptom. Anyways, as soon as the new doctor put her X-rays up he said "wow, she has a big heart!". He also said that those X-rays were really bad and they didn't take them of what they should have. He took new X-rays to see if she had a collapsed trachea. She doesn't have that (he showed me the xrays) but her heart is so big it is pushing up on her trachea and causing it to be hard to breathe.
I am so angry at the original vet. They could have caught this a couple weeks ago but chose not. I have to bring the X-rays back today and will be having a discussion with the manager about it and let her now I will not be bringing any of my 5 animals there. I really love all the girls at the front desk, they're awesome and, honestly, the only reason I kept going back, but I've had it with the doctors.
Miami, the puppy, was doing some sneezing while I had her in Florida, but when we got home she started doing a lot of coughing. I took her to the vet and her first diagnosis was kennel cough. No big deal, give her antibiotics and ear drops for a yeast infection in her ears and it's all good. I went back a week later (I wanted to schedule it for when her antibiotics were done but the first doctor wasn't available that day). There is one doctor at the office that I had problems with 2 years ago when my cat was very sick so I usually request a specific doctor AND tell them I do not want to see that one doctor. It's even in all of my animals' charts not to give me her. Guess who walks in the room on visit 2. I wasn't happy but didn't make a big deal of it since it was just a recheck, even though, like I said before, I intentionally scheduled the appointment (and clearly stated it to the lady that scheduled me) so I could see the original doctor. I told doctor #2 that the antibiotics weren't working. She said "well you have 2 more days of them just keep giving them". There was no mention of "of she's still coughing in a couple days call and I'll switch or extend", there was absolutely nothing. So I went home and the day she was done with her antibiotics and, surprise surprise, still coughing, I called the office and spoke to a manager. She scheduled me a visit for that evening with no charge for an office visit. I went and they took X-rays (which I believed at the time, and now believe even more so, that they only did that so they could charge me for something) to check for pneumonia. By the way, this was the third different doctor I've seen with her. She didn't have pneumonia but she supposedly did have bronchitis and absolutely no signs of kennel cough. Sent me home with more antibiotics and a prescription for a cough suppressant. This past Friday afternoon I took her back to the vets for a booster and ear recheck. I told doctor #4 that she was still coughing. He basically told me she's a little dog, she will cough, she may outgrow it she may not. Just pat her on the side and stick her in front of a humidifier.
I finally said I'm done and made an appointment with another vet clinic that a coworker of mine had been telling me to go to all along, everytime I told her the latest on what was going on with Miami. Last night we went, I picked up the X-rays from the other vet and had them fax over all her records. By the way, this was the first time I had seen the X-rays, the doctor that took them never showed me them. And as a side note, they knew all along that Miami had been around other dogs including my 2 other dogs who she shared water and food bowls with and a 7 week old puppy, none of which showed any kind of symptom. Anyways, as soon as the new doctor put her X-rays up he said "wow, she has a big heart!". He also said that those X-rays were really bad and they didn't take them of what they should have. He took new X-rays to see if she had a collapsed trachea. She doesn't have that (he showed me the xrays) but her heart is so big it is pushing up on her trachea and causing it to be hard to breathe.
I am so angry at the original vet. They could have caught this a couple weeks ago but chose not. I have to bring the X-rays back today and will be having a discussion with the manager about it and let her now I will not be bringing any of my 5 animals there. I really love all the girls at the front desk, they're awesome and, honestly, the only reason I kept going back, but I've had it with the doctors.
(And btw, I'd probably be more angry at the people who gave me the dog than the vets. This condition does not generally happen overnight, it's progressive, especially in the absence of treatment up until now. I'd have to wonder if the dog had regular veterinary care prior to your getting her? Most vets, I'd hope, would have detected some abnormalities on physical exam somewhere along the line.)
