PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE PETS: I know a lot of people have recommended Spay Clinic of Savannah in the past. I did before too... However, the situation that has recently occurred has shaken our lives. P... Read More
PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE PETS: I know a lot of people have recommended Spay Clinic of Savannah in the past. I did before too... However, the situation that has recently occurred has shaken our lives. Please read this formal complaint, I had to send in to the Georgia Veterinary Board of Medicine. My husband and I do not want any of this to happen to anyone else... So please share..To whom it may concern,To begin, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this formal complaint. This complaint is about the neglectful and unprofessional services provided by the veterinarian Don Hobson Howard at the White Bluff Veterinary Hospital in Savannah, Georgia for our 6-month old red and white Siberian Husky puppy named Kodah. At around 8:00am on Tuesday, February 11th, 2016 we brought Kodah to White Bluff Veterinary Hospital to be neutered. They took him in without issue. At around 12:00 pm that same day, the hospital called my husband to let him know that one of Kodah's testicles was undescended, retained within Kodah's abdomen. Due to this situation they told my husband that there would be a $50.00 up-charge for the services. They never advised us or even mentioned any potential additional risks because of this situation. When the surgery concluded the hospital called my husband to tell him that Kodah was finished with surgery but he had a blood clot and although he was currently stabilized they wanted him to stay overnight to be monitored. My husband, a US Army Firefighter, was on call that evening and was unable to use his phone. In the morning of February 12th, 2016, he saw two missed calls from the White Bluff Veterinary Hospital at 10:11 pm the night before. There were, however, no voicemails left. At about 1:10 pm the next day the hospital called my husband again and informed him that Kodah had passed away the night before around 9:00 pm due to another blood clot, which had traveled to his lungs. At about 5:30 pm, when I was able to leave work, my husband and I arrived at the hospital to see Kodah. After seeing him, we told the receptionist that we would like to talk to Dr. Howard, the veterinarian who had performed Kodah's surgery. Dr. Howard refused to talk to us. All we wanted was some information, reassurance, and a basic level of compassion given the circumstances - what anyone would want after their family pet passes on so suddenly and unexpectedly. We were told that he said he was far too busy and had to leave right away at 6:00 pm. We were in complete disbelief that he could not take even a moment to speak with us. We were in mourning and desperate for any information but he wouldn't talk with us. In an attempt to get any little bit of information, we asked the receptionist if we could get a copy of Kodah's report. She said yes and disappeared to the back to get the report. She came back empty handed and told us she could not give us the report. When we asked why not, she informed us that it wasn't finished. We told her we did not care if it wasn't finished, we wanted whatever was documented at the present time. She said okay and disappeared again into the back. Again, she came back empty handed and said we could not have it. We were in complete disbelief by the way were were being treated. We refused to leave without the report, again the receptionist disappeared to the back to try to get a copy of the report for us. Dr. Howard then appeared from a nearby room and told us to "Come here". He proceeded to tell us that he could not give us the report because it was not finished. My husband said he did not care, and we wanted whatever he had finished. Dr. Howard became very rude with us, rolling his eyes, and finally saying shortly, "fine" and walked away. My husband and I waited for another 15 minutes to get the report. As Dr. Howard had said, it was unfinished, however they did say they would email the rest of the report by Monday which never happened. It was very disappointing to us that when we were able to finally speak with Dr. Howard, rather than showing any compassion, he was rude to us and clearly not empathetic at all about the fact our puppy had just died, hours before, while in his care. The madness did not stop there. Months before all of this occurred, my husband and I had booked a vacation on a cruise which was scheduled to depart February 13th, 2016. As much as we wanted to, we could not get out of the trip. Our families encouraged us to go ahead with our plans to help take our mind off of the loss of our puppy. I deeply regret leaving now that I am aware of how this story would continue to unfold, while we were gone. Because of how we were treated, so many things ran through our minds. We could only presume there was something the veterinary clinic wasn't telling us. We asked our dearest friend, Kyle, to call the... See here for the rest, because it's too long: 987theriver.iheart.com/o… Read Less