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?

OMG This sounds awful. You should ask them about their complaints procedure and follow it through. They should have cleaned her up before handing her back to you. Totally unprofessional not to. The plucking of ears should have been discussed with you beforehand. Unfortunately the consent form once signed allows them to do what they think is necessary but surely the ears could have been discussed beforehand.

Is your dog insured? If not then get her insured asap as should, god forbid, anything should happen to her in the future or she gets an illness, vets bills can be costly and they claim back for absolutely everything.

It wasn't a branch of Pets@Home Companion Vets was it? They advertise one thing and then add things on, proper rip off merchants they are. I know someone who had dog spayed at one of their branches and pain relief meds were optional and at an extra cost.

Do you think it might be worth pursuing the first lot of vets through the small claims court? It sounds horrendous.

Zip, OP said it was Companion Pet Care (Pets at Home) earlier on the thread.
I've had no dealing with them myself, but my sister has and doesn't think much of them anymore.

Thanks Kid I missed that.
Pets@Home companion care vets are sly. In my friends case she was quoted an initial fee for the spay operation and presumed that was all inclusive. She was taken aback to be offered 'optional pain relief' meds for her dog at an extra cost. She was informed of this when collecting her dog. Why was it not mentioned prior to the operation? Why wasn't she made aware of all the costs? She was given estimation of surgery but no information on additional costs for pain relief. This doesn't seem right to me. How can you put a dog through surgery and then have the 'option' as to whether or not provide pain relief. I have heard other negative stuff about them. It's all about targets and bonuses. They lure people in with the half price vacc. They make up their losses elsewhere. I reckon it's worth notifying someone like Domonic Littlewood so he could investigate the way Pets@Home rip people off on his Don't get Done - Get Dom programme.
OP I hope you do file a complaint.

Personally I would insist on a full refund. You could always threaten to write a full complaint to...

www.rcvs.org.uk/complaints/

pah companion care about money and thats about it.