I'll start off by saying that I have taken several of my pets to Face over the years for vaccines, medications, check ups and neuter/spay procedures. I took my 10 month old Doberman to be neutered on ... Read More
I'll start off by saying that I have taken several of my pets to Face over the years for vaccines, medications, check ups and neuter/spay procedures. I took my 10 month old Doberman to be neutered on April 6th. The wait was CRAZY, but that I'm used to, and expected. We finally got back to the room, and who I assume to be the surgeon came in. Her coldness I did NOT expect. She had a syringe , and I had a question that she ignored although I asked several times. My pets are my world and I like to know as much about what's happening as possible. I just wanted to know what was in the needle. All she kept saying in her ster, cold voice, that wherever my sweet Apollo's head was, is where my fiance needed to be. Now I can understand the job must be hard, and maybe she hears the same questions all the time. I can't say for certain. But I know that just the air and coldness about her made me want to take my baby out of that place. I should have. Now keeping a puppy calm is hard, so I opted for the extra "pain" medication in hopes that it would help. Boy, was I wrong. Even the Elizabethan collar couldn't stop him. But, I religiously checked his gums, and incision. I monitored his water and food intake, as well as his urination and bowel movements. I wanted to make sure his healing process went by as quickly and smoothly as possible. On April 8th I got home from work, and immediately noticed his right leg and along the right side of his penis horribly swollen. It was squishy as if it were filled with fluid and he seemed immensely uncomfortable. I immediately called the emergency line. I sent pictures. They suggested a possible reaction to sutures, to give benadryl and bring him in the next day. I then quickly went and got benadryl, gave him the suggested dose, and hoped it would at least help to make him comfortable. It didn't help. We went in right at opening the next day, which quickly turned into a fiasco. I walked in to a freshly mopped waiting area. Now my Apollo is a sweet, but very rambunctious boy, and although uncomfortable he quickly became over excited wanting to play and greet all the other fur babies. I tried to hang back a bit before checking in due to the fact I was slipping and sliding all over the wet floor. I nearly bit the dust several times, I'm sure it was quite comical. Me slipping and sliding, trying to keep my lampshade clad boy in place. When I finally made my way to the front, a rather large dog seated with it's owner by the check in window began to growl and pull it's owner. Wanting to prevent any further disaster, I kindly asked another employee at a different window if she could check me in. There was NO line at the check in window. She told me no, that I'd have to check in at the next window. I again, kindly asked, and stated that I didn't want to slip and fall on the sopping wet floor. She again told me I had to check in at the next window. I then told her no, that I did not wish to step to the next window, next to a large growling dog, for the slight (but still scary) chance that an incident would occur. All the while Apollo was also slipping and sliding on said wet floor. Finally she agreed to check me in, most likely due to the fact that I had started to get loud, and was struggling with keeping my baby from falling. Finally another employee took me to a room, so that he wouldn't "damage his sutures". When he was finally seen he was diagnosed (in about 4 minites) with an adema commonly seen in horses due to inactivity. Although I told them several times he definitely hadn't been inactive. $60 worth of meds later (an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory) I still felt uneasy. I called my vet, and we went straight there. I was there for almost 2 hours. Most of that spent examining and observing. Poking, prodding, and pondering. Finally he suggested a test for Von Willebrand Disease. Common in Dobermans, and in some cases doesn't show up until a surgical procedure. Apollo's blood wasn't clotting as it should, and caused pooling. I thank god that I got a second opinion, and my vet spent the time that he did with my baby. Maybe if they'd spent a more than mere minutes with him... But Apollo is fine now, and that's all that matters to me. Prior experiences to Face had been great, But this was enough to ruin it forever. Read Less