This review has been a long time coming. It's just been really, really hard to write.
My family had been going to this clinic with our old dog for many years. In 2008 when I got my first dog, Eva Pi... Read More
This review has been a long time coming. It's just been really, really hard to write.
My family had been going to this clinic with our old dog for many years. In 2008 when I got my first dog, Eva Pixie, I decided to keep the tradition going. The support staff was awesome, and the doctors friendly enough, so even if the costs were higher than other clinics in the area, I stayed.
Then 2016 came. I took Eva in for a visit because her lymph nodes had swelled. I don't remember the vet's name because I think I've blocked out most of the memories from that day due to the trauma of it. She warned us that it could be a cancer, lymphoma, and wanted to order a long list of tests to find out. At the time I had absolutely no clue what lymphoma was, or even what cancer in dogs was like, so I asked if we could just do the cytology first, since that would tell us if it actually WAS lymphoma.
And that was when she said something I've had no success wiping from my memory. "Well, I need to know now if you're going to be willing to spend the money for treatment."
She sounded actually upset about it. I just froze up. Again, I knew nothing about lymphoma. What KIND of treatment? What odds were there? What timeframe are we looking at? WHAT IS LYMPHOMA? The only thing I knew was that it was, obviously, a cancer of the lymph nodes. It was like she was assuming I already knew everything about lymphoma and could easily make an informed decision right there on the spot. Inside, I was starting to feel furious at her, but I kept it together, ordered the cytology, and got Eva out of there with the intent of NEVER going back.
As soon as the results were back a few days later confirming Lymphoma, I transferred over to the Bel Air Veterinary Hospital. I told the FVC it was for a "second opinion", but really, I just wanted to get Eva as far away from that doctor as possible.
Fortunately the doctor at the BAVH was incredible. He explained the basics of canine lymphoma, gave me some statistics to chew on, an idea of what chemo in dogs was like, and how much the cost would range. That's all I wanted! Was that really so hard? I left him feeling relieved now that I actually knew what I was in for, and in a much better mental state to begin Eva's fight.
That doctor at FVC had no idea how far I would go to give Eva as much time as I could, and she never should have assumed otherwise to begin with. Fortunately Eva was internet famous from a viral picture I'd taken a couple years before - simply google "So I tied my dog Eva to a post" and it's the first thing that pops up. She raised $16k on gofundme from her fans across the world, and the remaining couple grand I paid for out of pocket, paycheck to paycheck. In the span of a year she went through two rounds of chemo with only one or two "bad" days in between. For the rest, she was her usual crazy, happy self. Unfortunately, she became multi-drug resistant and there was no point in continuing treatment. She passed away April 4th, 2017.
Every step of the gruelung fight was worth it. With one exception: the first step, at FAV, with a doctor who had the worst bedside manner in history. Read Less