I called this place this morning, thinking I could bring in my English Bulldog sometime next week. They were able to get us in within a few hours. She started going bald a few years ago. She was also ... Read More
I called this place this morning, thinking I could bring in my English Bulldog sometime next week. They were able to get us in within a few hours. She started going bald a few years ago. She was also drinking and peeing more than usual. We brought her to Banfield and they said it was just temporary baldness, nothing more, and that it would grow back. It never did. Someone referred us to Elm Creek Animal Hospital out in Champlin, saying that one specific doctor there was excellent. We were told it was alopecia, nothing more, and that if we gave her melatonin it would grow back. It never did. We went to a third doctor, Pet Dermetology in Plymouth, and again were told that it was simply cosmetic, and were given some ointment to put on her really dry patches. A year later, she is still bald and has some sores on her skin. She is still drinking and peeing a lot, but now she is even puking. We took her in today to Apache and they spent some time with her before doing any poking around. She was wagging her tail and being somewhat affectionate. Very rare for a doctor visit. This place did VERY comprehensive testing. They took blood, poop, and urine. (At the other places, the only way they tried to get urine was to bring her outside and try to hold a catcher under her crotch when peeing. She hated it and they were never able to get a urine sample.) This place has a special way to extract urine. Finally, we got an answer. She has Cushin's Disease. It makes total sense - she has almost every symptom of it. I really wish one of the three doctors we had seen earlier would have been able to get to the bottom of this. All this time we could have been treating her. Dr. Travis is who we worked with. He was very patient, explained everything in a way that was easy to understand. My dog liked him, he was super gentle and an all around nice guy. I would highly recommend this doctor. The place was very clean. Friendly staff. We will continue to go to this doctor. Read Less