Feel like Vets have butchered my bitch - should i complain?

[DesperatelySeekingPerfection]

Ok so took my bitch for a spay after getting a quote for £140 (She is under 7kg small breed). When i arrived they told me that pain meds to take home were required and i would be cruel not to have them. These would be another £20. She would also have to have an e-collar at a cost of £5. They said if i didn't purchase it and she got an infection i would be culpable, howver if i purchased it they would be.

When i collected her she looked like she had been butchered, blood all over abdomen. The incision was massive and crooked, not at all like my previous spayed dogs. They told me she had bled a lot, apparently this sometimes "just happens". She had to have IV fluids. Apparently they had also had to pluck her ears due to an infection - she had not displayed any signs of an ear infection and is regularly groomed.

The bill is nowwell over £250.

10 days later when she has a check up i point out that the knotted end of the dissolvable stitch is protruding and the wound looks lumpy. I am told this is fine. This morning the wound looked hideous so i took her in. Apparently it is now infected due to a reaction with the sutures. They charge for antibiotics and pain relief and i have to go back for the 4th time in a week.

The bill is now near enough £300.

Should i just suck this up or should i question it. I am uneasy with everything that has happened. I feel a bit ripped off tbh and wish i had used my old vets. Or am i just being cynical and tight?

That is really not very good.

And as I am no longer working - you are by no means the first to have these kinds of issues with P@H vet franchises.
There was one large one that opened here and siphoned off customers due to appealing low prices. Within months the client list mostly returned to normal as people started coming back with stories of hidden charges, terrible advice and worse.

As an aside it is ridiculous to use glue instead of sutures to close her wound in this case. I'm sorry she had a horrid time of it and glad you are now back with someone you trust.

The P@H vet near us is actually dearer than the two local vet practices.

Have to add though that the worst experience I had was not with P@H, who I've never used, but with an established vets in a nearby town.
My little dog died because she was given too much anaesthetic. They called for me to collect her & she was still unconscious & cold as ice but they refused to keep her there as they were closing for the night. She remained groggy for three days afterwards & I took her back every single day but they would do nothing, said she would be fine, she was just recovering. The third night she lay on my knee & just died.
This was all following an operation for a suspect lump. Two days after she died I got the results of the biopsy they performed on the lump, it was benign. This was over twenty years ago & I've never had complete trust in any vet since.

Oh aqua that's just so very :( your poor beloved little dog :(

That sounds awful for you Aque, what a terrible experience.

My local vets are a disgrace and I'd avoid them like the plague. My 7 month old puppy died when he went in to be neutered. They phoned to tell me he had died and offered to dispose of his body. In hindsight, I'm convinced they did something wrong and now wish I'd have logged a complaint at the time. I know of at least 2 other young dogs dying during the same procedure at that vets

I'm really glad you got a second opinion OP, the new vet sounds so much more caring. Hope you dog makes a full recovery soon.

neutering is such a routine operation takes virtually no time at all. Obviously it's not risk free but omg what on earth did they do :(

That's just awful, kid.
Did they not even give you a reason? It isn't as if having a male neutered is as invasive as a female! Bet it was the anaesthetic like mine. Three young dogs dying like that is not good at all

I find it difficult to trust any of them these days.
The one I use now, supposed to be the best round here, swore black was white that one of my bitches had damaged the growing point in her shoulder when she was limping at ten months old. Wanted to give her x-rays, all sorts. Said would never be right.Three visits later I got them finally to look at her foot as she'd got so I couldn't touch it without her wincing. It was an infection in the bed of one of her claws! Five days antibiotics & she was cured.

At first when they phoned me, they said his heart stopped within 30 seconds of the anaethestic. But when I emailed them later that week for an explanation of what happened, they said he started to struggle 30 minutes into the operation. They said they tried massaging his heart and even gave some adrenaline but he couldn't be saved.
They said he either had a stroke, congenital heart disease or an anuerysm. They had the cheek to tell me I didn't have to pay for the neutering operation, as if I was going to anyway!

When I took him to be neutered, they never once mentioned about there being any risks. I had emailed them a few times with questions about the risks involved and the recovery period. I truely believed I'd collect him later that afternoon and he'd be back to his crazy self in less than a week. Little did I know we'd be breaking my children's hearts by telling them our puppy was dead

:( there r risks to all surgeries and this shoulda been explained to u. They should have asked u about the mother and if u knew of any defects or illness and how the other litter mates were. They should have asked if he had been eating drinking and going to loo normally snd how his general health was. Before the pre-med they would have had to have weighed him taken temp, looked at eyes and ears listened to his chest. If all these checks were done and fine it's very unlikely they r telling the truth a out what happened :( a heart defect bad enough to stop him in that amount of time would have either been audible or suspected due to sluggishness or pale ness etc. I only recall cat castrates being quick but half An hour is a long time for a castrate. Sure someone will correct me on that :( sounds like they couldn't even tell u the truth :( soooo sorry :(

I have come to the conclusion that the vet was alone during the surgery and did not have someone with him to monitor my puppy. I assume thats what is meant to happen.

He also told me two different versions of events which just raised my suspicion further. Its very rare for a seemingly healthy young pup to die during routine surgery, but that is what happened.
The vet did listen to pups heart before I left him there. The vet said he had checked it again before giving the anaesthetic and all seemed fine.
We have moved on now but have never been able to forget my dear little dog who meant the world to me.
We do have another dog now but I could never, ever take the chance of getting him neutered. Even if it is rare, it happened to my family once and I can't take that risk again.

:(

Aww, thanks.
It happened 2 1/2 years ago. I posted about it at the time on here, I was distraught at the time.
But, we're all fine now. Still get a little sad at times at the unfairness of it but on the whole we are fine.

So sorry OP, totally hijacking your post. I am glad your dog seems to be on the mend now. I get nervous whenever anyone gets their dog neutered.

I quite understand your reluctance to have your new dog neutered, kid. You don't trust easily after an experience like that.

How, in heaven's name were you supposed to know how the other litter mates were doing when they were months old??

I've had litters of puppies. I don't expect any of the new owners to know how the rest of the litter are doing. They usually don't know who has bought the others, unless they specifically ask! I suppose if a problem with one had been reported back to the breeder then they could ask about that but I've never had a problem with any of my pups that were sold so don't know about that, all went healthy (insured for good measure for the first few weeks) & stayed healthy till the usual old age ailments or minor accidents.

( I was guessing that they may have seen the litter mates to pick one and gone back a eek or so later to collect. And seen the puppies looking ok. That's all I meant) x all depends in the situation it could be someone who uses the same breeder as family members etc and would know previous history.

I hope u have a long happy life with your new dog ur story brought a tear to my eye :( xx

Oh no those stories are so upsetting. I think the hardest thing is not knowing what has gone on. You'd like to believe it was just genuinely unavoidable but many times it feels like that is not the case. I know I am very cynical about what has happened to my dog.

aqua and kid it is just heartbreaking to hear.

Thank you for everyone's advice though, going to a different vet was definitely the right thing to do and I'm glad you all encouraged me to do that yesterday.

I let my previous pups breeder know what happened by sending her a letter. I didn't have any other way if contacting her. I never did hear from her.

My current dog is now just over 2 and I've kept in touch with his breeder, we've met up twice and I'm in touch with some of the other litter mates owners

Sorry, Wheresmycaffeinedrip, just re read my last post & it sounds like I was having a go at you & I wasn't at all. I'd rushed through reading the new posts & got hold of the wrong end of the stick completely.
I can see what you meant now, please forgive me if I sounded harsh.

All forgiven :) I cant imagine how upset you would be to read about someone who had a rubbish vet not do a very good job and how it would remind u of what u went through :( I'm so sorry to read about what happened to your puppy!

Can I just add a few points?

All operations carry risk. Yes, this should be explained and yes, you should have a chance to read the consent form fully before signing it. But that risk is always there, with the surgery and the anaesthetic.

Usually if something goes wrong it's minor. A wound infection can happen despite the very best of care. A suture reaction can occur at random. But sometimes the worst can happen, and the animal can die. I think I spoke to you about this around the time of your terrible loss, kid (under another nn). Fortunately this is genuinely rare but it can happen - random things like blood clots, heart arrythmias or malignant hyperthermia can't be predicted. Sadly, Wheres, the checks you mention won't prevent these random bad outcomes. They will reduce some risks but not eliminate them.

Bleeding from microchip insertions is pretty common.

Using glue to close skin wounds is pretty common.

I agree that many of the vets here sound like they have provided a poor service. But not necessarily clinically. Their communication has been insufficient, their customer care absent and it seems that they've become detached from the experiences of the pet owner. This can happen - for example, a bloody chip site is no big thing, and it's easy to forget that it might distress an owner - but it shouldn't.

Of course dishonesty (as opposed to rubbish communication) is totally unacceptable and always warrants a complaint. A relationship of trust between a vet and their client is vital and should be maintained as a priority.

I do think a letter to the practice which carried out the surgery is a good idea OP. You need to know that your concerns have been heard - ask for a written response. But try to remember that life, nature is unpredictable and complications will happen. It's unfortunate that they've happened to your pets, but nothing can eliminate them completely.

I hope your dog is 100% soon and this can all be consigned to memory :)

Thank you

The thanks were for you, Wheresmycaffeinedrip.

Are you a vet poached eggs ?

Oops, sorry - I should have said! Yes :)

:) aqua x heres hoping for a speedy recovery to op's dog! And to never forgetting our beloved pets who are no longer with us but that we carry in our hearts. And of course the biggest cuddles to all our current pets who we love dearly , make our children happy and who love us whenever we have food

Ok in case anyone is still out there to help here is the latest:

I saw (well my dog did) the senior partner at our local vets today for another check up. He inspected it where all the inflammation etc has subsided. He says the issue is this: they have put a suture in the wrong place. One of the dissolvable sutures is through the upper dermis (?), apparently there is no bodily fluids here therefore the suture shouldn't be put there. It has not broken down or started to. He says this is what has tracked an infection into the area.

He said whilst this sometimes happens it shouldn't be down to me to pay - the bill is now £350 (original quote £140) - for the situation to be rectified.

The vet says that next week we will reassess - the infection should be completely gone. He may have to cut the surface to remove the suture but wouldn't need to do anything other than this. Hopefully the suture won't cause any further problems and can just be left there.

I hope you have written to the vets that did the op in the first place and I do hope you won't have to pay the inflated bill that has increased due to their shoddy work.

I'm pleased to hear your dog is improving though and that all should be well in a week or so. Poor thing, she has really had a rough time of it.