I spent thousands of dollars on multiple surgeries to have my dog's mast cell tumors removed. For weeks I called trying to make an appointment to bring her in because she was limping and could not put... Read More
I spent thousands of dollars on multiple surgeries to have my dog's mast cell tumors removed. For weeks I called trying to make an appointment to bring her in because she was limping and could not put weight on her front leg. They supposedly could not accommodate me because they only had "emergency" appointments available and were "short staffed". I asked to bring my dog in as an emergency appointment and they again told me that they could not see her unless her limping was due to one of the tumors that they had removed 2 months prior. I told them that I did not know if her limp was related to the tumor coming back. Then they tried to prescribe her a NSAID knowing she had been prescribed prednisone (a steroid) for her mast cell tumors. You can NOT take a non steroid antiinflammatory with a steroid and any competent vet should know that! So after refusing the NSAID that they offered me and after going back and forth with them about getting my dog in, they told me to take her to an emergency vet because "they could not help her". I called Miller Animal hospital who got my dog in right away. Unfortunately, I found out that she had osteosarcoma and although I again tired calling Oakwood to get a second opinion regarding the x-rays which supposedly showed evidence of osteosarcoma, we ended up losing her within a week. I had to make the difficult choice to have her put down based on the recommendation of a Dr. who had only seen her twice for leg pain, instead of the doctors at Oakwood that I trusted. After she passed, I called Oakwood to let them know and they didn't even offer their condolences! The receptionist said, "I'll inform Dr. Wagner and we will take you off the vaccine reminder list" and that was it! After years of taking my dog to this vet and spending so much on surgery, dental work/extractions, and diagnostic tests, they didn't even send a letter or call to say that they were sorry for our loss. This was her primary doctor!!! The staff does not care about your pets and clearly the doctors are not medically competent if they tried to mix 2 medications that should never be taken together (and fyi, they prescribed my dog the steroid to be taken for the rest of her life to keep her tumors at bay, so clearly they didn't look at her medical records before prescribing a NSAID). If I had no medical background myself, I would have given her both meds and she would have gone into organ failure almost instantly. Oakwood had my sweet little 10 lb, 13 year old dog on 4 different medications and she never showed improvement... if anything, the meds only made her worse because she eventually developed Cushing's disease from being on the steroids for too long. Also, when I brought my dog to Miller Animal Hospital they were surprised that Oakwood Vet would even put my dog under anesthesia, not once, but twice, because she had a grade 3 heart murmur and wasn't considered "stable" enough to go under anesthesia. Do yourself a favor and go to Miller Animal Hospital near HVCC in Troy because Dr. Wagner from Oakwood and his incompetent daughter (also named Dr. Wagner) are not fit to care for a plant, let alone your fur baby. They never have time to spend answering your questions, they rush you in and out, and they are all about the old mighty dollar... not your pet and not you. The only good thing that I can say about this place is that the prices are pretty reasonable in comparison to what other veterinarians are charging. l Read Less