I have had dogs on my own for decades and have seen vets all over the place, and this has to be the best experience I have had. We arrived after 6 p.m., with a referral from a vet who was out of her ... Read More
I have had dogs on my own for decades and have seen vets all over the place, and this has to be the best experience I have had. We arrived after 6 p.m., with a referral from a vet who was out of her league for our dog's undiagnosed liver issue and other possible concerns, our dog was on an IV and unable to walk. Within minutes, before we were taken back for a consult, the vet on duty, Dr. Mark Saphir had already removed a small amount of fluids from our dog's belly and ascertained he was in septic shock and needed liver surgery immediately. [our first vet never did that, and specifically told us there was no hurry to treat our dog] He told us a fairly close estimate of the cost, and was sincere when he said that he could not guarantee our pets survival, because of his advanced septic state and other factors. It was also certain if the liver disease had somehow impacted the dog's ability to walk--he was unable to move his back legs. We did not know if we would be looking at a long string of medical procedures and were told that could be a possibility. We wanted to try to save him so he called in a surgeon, Dr. LaHue to start surgery immediately--he did not want the dog going into more shock as time went by. The surgery lasted over 2 hours, and we were called shortly after- very late at night--to let us know he had made it that far, and then again at 8 a.m., just as Dr. Saphir was getting off duty. We dealt with a number of doctors as the staff changed, and our dog's hospitalization continued for 7 days while he overcame several side effects of the infection that entered his lungs, stomach and blood stream. He began walking as the infection left so that issue diminished. The doctors encouraged us to visit and sit with him, and when the dog was more capable of movement, gave us a private area to hang out with him. The doctors were a good combination of compassionate, competent and professional. Our dog's liver was partially removed, and several pieces were taken for biopsy. A doctor that cared for him for three days, Dr. Robison, was thrilled to come into our room while visiting about 4 days after the surgery and was ecstatic to let us know the tumor that put this all into play when it burst was benign.There was lots of good doctoring going on throughout our dog's stay--Dr. Brady and Dr. Heidelberg were very key in getting our dog's internal system back on track after being so far in decline. There seemed to be a good system in place to keep the dog's treatment consistent from doctor to doctor, though allowing for adjustments as the dog's condition changed. I am not certain that my dog would have survived without the very close and careful care that he received. Read Less