I was playing with my 2 year old Shih Tzu when he yawned in my face and I noticed a huge pink lump on the roof of his mouth way in the back (the roof of his mouth is black). We decided he needed to go... Read More
I was playing with my 2 year old Shih Tzu when he yawned in my face and I noticed a huge pink lump on the roof of his mouth way in the back (the roof of his mouth is black). We decided he needed to go to the vet. We called our vet but they were closed on Wednesdays and Thursday our doctor had surgeries all day so we could drop our little guy off for the day or make an appoinment for Saturday. After talking about it we decided we'd be more comfortable going to an appointment but didn't want to wait until Saturday. So Wednesday morning I called Lofton Creek, somewhere we had never been to but drove by thousands of times. They scheduled an appointment for that afternoon. We went in and filled out the paper work and went back to see Dr. Dunn. She came in and we told her how it looked him he had been chewing pink bubble gum and pressed it up on the roof of his mouth. Dr. Dunn and a technician tried to look in his mouth but could only get a glimpse of it because he was moving too much. Her response was that the only way they could get a good look at it was if he was under, but whatever it is, it doesn't need to be there so we should go ahead and schedule a surgery to remove it. I was a little hesistant, but she seemed to know what she was doing. So she gave us a sheet with a price and it was itemized so we could see what we were paying for and it was a fair cost. We were supposed to drop him off at 7:30 Thursday morning, but we both work at 7, so dad took him. We had expected him to have to sign paperwork allowing them to do the surgery and he was listed at the emergency contact so it was ok. But as he was initialling things he got to a line that said ""Microchip"" They said that while the dogs are under they go ahead and microchip them. Both my dogs are already microchipped! They had added 5 things to the total that we hadn't agreed on!! 5 things that were completely unnecessary! He didn't sign for any of them but we went ahead with the surgery anyway. Strike 1. Then they had said they were going to call us by noon to let us know how the surgery went. At 1:00 my husband called and the woman at the front desk said, ""Oh yeah, he came out of surgery fine and he's in the back resting."" When he asked why they didn't call they said that the doctor still had other surgeries and that they would call when she was done with all of them. No... that's why they have administrative people in the front to notify worrying puppy parents!! Strike 2. When my husband went to pick up our little guy, they informed him that they didn't remove the lump. WHAT? That's what they TOLD us they were going to do! Thats what we PAID for them to do!! She said that she had thought that the lump was more dangily that it was, so they didn't want to remove it. They biopsied it instead. So, IF it is something that needs to be removed, he's going to have to have ANOTHER surgery?! I was PISSED. STRIKE 3!!! But I wasn't there, so I didn't get to say my piece. They said the results would be ready ""in a few days"". So Tuesday, the following week, I called to ask when they thought they'd have the results in and the lady I spoke to said biopsy results usually take 2 weeks... HUH? Another thing that we were misled on. Strike 4. I am so over them at this point its unbelievable. However, they called my husband that Friday with the results. They said its not cancer, maybe a bacterial infection and he needs antibiotics. Saturday morning, we went to get a copy of the results. We took the results to our regular vet on Monday and she said it sounds like he got bit or stung by a bug. After looking in his mouth (which he let her do without fussing because she's great with animals!), she confirmed that that was what she thought and she prescribed us some medicine for him. The moral of the story is that if you want to be lied to, go to Lofton Creek. If you want a EXCELLENT vet, go to Dr. Kim Carter at Nassau Veterinary Hospital!!! Read Less