Not a good start to 08! I will be suing!

[Beastlee]

Well just before Xmas we discovered a lump on Star's(Our dog, see avatar) neck which obviuosly concerned us so we took her to the vet:inquisiti . It was initially diagnosed as a swollen saliva gland and she was given some anti-inflammatories and a diet of citrus fruits to get the saliva flowing.:thinking:
Two weeks later the Vet decided it was no better and she should go to a clinic to have the gland removed, we pottered off and booked her in for an operation. Later that day she came back with a 2in wound and a load of bandage with a 'We took out a lymph node and sent it of for tests.' she seemed no better but we continued on for 10 days until the stitches were removed. The lump remained and we were advised that we should go back to the clinic as the regular vet was unhappy. He also told us that the results had come back that the material tested was not a lymph node, indicating the operation had not been correctly done! :speechles
We returned to the clinic on 27th Dec and we discussed the situation, obviously raising the issue of the previous operation and we were not expecting to pay for the repeat operation to which he responded 'I'll sort it, don't worry'. We spent a total of 3.5 hours waiting to collect her afterwards (same day) and when when we went back to discuss our concerns at the €550 bill we had suddenly been told was expected for the second operation! Apparently more work had been involved and they had sent further samples off for patholgy but not to worry it was just a bad infection.

Well today I was in Belgium on a job and during the return journeyI got a distraught call from Heidi, Star as a malignant tumor and the lab believes that not all of it was removed. The outlook is bad but there is a possibility of chemo that would make her very ill. We have an alternative option but there is no guarantee either way. At best they reckon she has 2-3 years bu nothing is certain.

Star has nver once been nasty or viscious, she has only ever loved and tried to help others. Some of you may remember her from JAE 07 and will know how how loveable she is. She has never done anything to deserve something like this!

Well suffice to say Xmas is officially over here and it's not such a happy new year! I will be suing the clinic for negligence with respect to the operation and the cost of a second operation (I will pay up for now with a note stating my intent).

Sorry for the sounding off here. Best wishes to you all.

[Lillywotsername]

Oh Lee... That is simply awful. I really hope you can get her all better again, although it is going to be hard on Star and your family. I really hope she can pull through for you all.

As for the vet.... Take them to the cleaners. :(

[DickBarton]

Not good news at all...I can sort of sympathise with you as my father and step-mum have a real love of Bernese Mountain Dogs but every dog they have had (about 8 since they got together - normally 1 at a time but at the peak 3!) have all succumbed to tumours...it isn't good and it's really isn't nice to see the dogs suffer...unfortunately for Bernese it's a common ailment and they don't handle any therapy well so the nicest thing to do is the last thing you want to do...it's not nice...hopefully Star will recover and all will be well...

[Kieran]

Oh f***ing hell fire - As I've just said out loud. I really feel for you - One of Alex's parent's poodles is getting on in years and whilst not as critical as your situation the local vet has screwed up with a blood/tissue sample. The bunch of idiots are (in my opinion) partially responsible for the death of one of their cats through their bungling incompetence too - Makes my blood boil just thinking about it.

Okay, being a vet isn't easy and I can understand the occasional misdiagnosis (after all, a dog or cat can't describe it's symptoms) but incompetence is an altogether different thing.

Poor Star - And poor you and your Family. :(

[Beastlee]

We lost our Jack Russell 2 years ago to the same thing. We got Star as a playmate for him, she's now 6 and he was 8 nd a half.

I have always been against having 2 dogs again but someone suggested we get a second one now so that Heidi still has a friend at home all day with her. I'm not so sure.

Thanks for your kind words.

K - The vet we were supposed to have the first time actually took the afternoon off after we had taken her to him and got an assitant to do the work. We know that as he and our regular vet are friends and he admitted it. Of course our regular vet is very unhappy with it all and has given us copies of the pathology reports for evidence but does not want to be named. We like him and he has been very good to us so I will respect that but the clinic vet will get both barrels!

[TAR]

Lee, that is awful news, sorry.

I can empathise with you as a devoted dog owner myself. It can sometimes seem silly to those who are not animal lovers just how much we love our pets. They really are members of the family and deserve as much care and attention as anyone. I do hope that your dog is not suffering and I hope that a recovery is possible and also that you get some satisfaction from the vet/clinic.

[AncientOfMu]

Im sorry Lee :(.

Not exactly the same but we had to have our last cat (we used to have 4) put to sleep two days ago. He had a Thrombosis at the rear of his spine. Laying on the sofa in pain so had to take him to a 24Hr vet and do the appropriate thing.

The thing that got me mad Vet wise was because I wouldnt leave him in pain for 4 hrs until the normal vet opened I was presented with a bill of £187 !!!! just for putting a cat to sleep at 6 o clock in the morning.

He was 15 so had had a good life but I know your pain when a member of the family is ill and you have hard decisions to make. Give my regards to Heidi and give the Vets hell. After all it isnt like they dont make enough money is it :thinking: /Grrr /Grrr /Grrr

[miller]

Feel for you, give the vets hell.

One cure for this, couple of months get yourself down the rescue centre and give a little pup something to wag its tail at :happy:


I cant wait until i get the right house where i can finally own a big dog again :happy: Fingers crossed this summer it will happen


Mike

[bernmc]

Why pay the 2nd bill and then try to sue? Just don't pay the bill in the first place. If you've already coughed up, it's going to be bloody difficult to get it back.

Make clear that things are going to go further as well.

[Nick VR4]

Bugger sorry to hear this hope you get it sorted asap

[Beastlee]

Thanks again for all the kind words. We are all baring up after the initial shock and Star seems none the wiser.

AoM - Sorry to hear of your loss, you are so right, she is like a second child as far aw we are concerned.

Bern - As I get tax free services in Germany the MoD pays the bill, less tax, and then I pay the MoD. The first operation was already paid for and the clinic would have a case against the MoD for the second one. I therefore have to keep the good name of the MoD to ensure that the clinic continus to deal with other MoD related staff. To be fair to the hed vet his operation was actually very good, the problem we have is that he gave her to an assitant who clearly wasn't up to it.

[Little Miss Road Rage]

I'm sorry to hear about this. I love my dogs and would hate it if something happened to them.

Once we lost 3 German Shepherds in a month. It was awful. One had to be put down because of his legs, one had liver and kidney failure and the other had a stroke and was paralysed from the neck down.

Give the vets hell i would

[Beastlee]

Anybody who was following this thread may or may not be interested to know that Star has unfortunately had to be put to sleep this evening. She had developed a secondary tumor on the brain over the past few week which had caused her to lose all control of the right side of her body and go blind in her right eye. It was the best thing for her but she went down fighting, the vet couldn't get a vein and she refused to sleep with the pre-sedation!

We wil be getting her ashes and spreading them at a lake, she was happiest when swimming.

[Nick VR4]

Ohhh bugger sorry to hear this

Condolences to you and your family

[Nick Mann]

Sorry to hear of your loss. Our greyhound is approaching 15 and hasn't got much time left. I'm not looking forward to feeling what you must be feeling now.

Hope the family doesn't take it too hard.

[Nutter_John]

Sh1t mate , sorry to hear this

[big Pete]

I'm really sorry to read this Lee.

Not much more I can say really, just keep all those happy memories.

ATB

Pete

[TAR]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, it shows how much you care just by the fact that you took that sad decison.

[Kieran]

Loosing your pal, especially in this way is really horrible. Happened to me about 10 years ago. The many smiles and happy memories of Star's life will far outweigh the sadness you feel right now.

[Beastlee]

Many thanks for all the kind words, we will certainly remember all of the good times.

[peter thomson]

Sorry to hear this Lee ,we lost one of ours a few years ago and at times it feels harder than losing a relative.

[Joanne]

Sorry to hear this :(
/grouphug

[HJM]

Really sorry to hear this Lee :(

[Beastlee]

Obviuosly the Germans think we are made of money! I've just seen that the money for the last round of treatment and the Euthenasia has been taken from my account.......€560!!!! She only had 1 rabies jab, 1 anti-inflammatory, sedative and euthanising drug with cremation and they want how much?!? Bear in mind this is without the tax too. We asked for her ashes to be returned to us and she came back in an urn with a little poem in German but surely we should have been advised of the costs at the time as we certainly weren't in any frame of mind to be asking the question of cost when the dog was already sedated!
I need to get the bill tomorrow and find out exactly what we have been billed for!

[d i c k i e s]

whoa dats not cheap!