I encourage all pet parents to take this review into serious consideration, despite the length. On 10/4/18 I went to Long around midnight with two, 3 month old rescue puppies I'd had for two weeks. Th... Read More
I encourage all pet parents to take this review into serious consideration, despite the length. On 10/4/18 I went to Long around midnight with two, 3 month old rescue puppies I'd had for two weeks. They were having body tremors, unable to hold their bowels and foaming at the mouth. Dr. Phillips examined the dogs in the back, and returned (without an introduction of himself) to tell me he was not seeing any reason to keep them for further testing or observation. They were being treated by another vet for mild upper respiratory symptoms so he said the symptoms I was seeing could be due to the medication they were on. I expressed my concern for the female puppy especially, whose episodes of foaming and losing her bowels did not seem in line with anything upper respiratory. He dismissed my concerns and said he was packing the dogs up for home. He returned moments later to tell me he had witnessed one of the episodes, it was in fact neurological and that the dogs needed to be quarantined overnight for potential Distemper virus. I was offered no explanation as I cried in the room, confused at what just happened. Dr. Phillips said they would work with the rescue I had the dogs from and then left. The following day I received updates from the staff over the phone. I was told they were showing neurological signs, but were stable in the sense of eating and drinking. A doctor left me a voicemail later in the afternoon letting me know they were waiting on the results of the Distemper test but all signs were in line with this diagnosis. He was very up front with me that if it was Distemper, it could have irreversible damage and likely be fatal. I was later told the dogs were being discharged as they were stable enough to wait on the test results and because there is not a cure, making them comfortable would be the focus.When I arrived to pick them up that night, I was frozen with shock upon seeing their condition. A vet tech entered the room holding the little girl pup and I could barely recognize her. She was stiff, foaming at the mouth, did not recognize me and appeared to have significantly progressed neurologically. She told me the dogs were ready to go home, denied my initial request to see a vet to ask the questions I had prepared, and seemed irritated I was so adamant about speaking with a vet before leaving. After demanding to see a vet, she said she would try to find one.I am unaware of the time it took for a vet to return. It was probably 20 minutes but it felt like hours. In the time that passed, I quickly realized the severe state of suffering both puppies were in. The little girl puppy was suffering tremendously and the effects of her illness were very evident. My formerly quiet, timid puppy had such neurological impacts she was having seizures, foaming at the mouth, losing control of her bowels, throwing her head into the side of the carrier, barking, biting and spinning in circles over and over. I could not calm her with my voice and she was thrashing so hard that she was crying out. I sat in the room sobbing, with my fingers in my ears trying to talk to her but also to drown out the sound of her pain. Her brother lay in the carrier next to her quietly whining, having full body tremors. When a vet finally entered, the only thought I had was laying this sweet girl to rest so that she would no longer be tormented by her loss of control. In an overall horrific and traumatic experience, the only light in that entire building was Dr. Foreman. As soon as she entered the room she showed compassion. She explained she had not been the one to observe them during the day and discussed the severity of Distemper. With irreversible signs this far along, we agreed on humane euthanasia and she left the room to prepare. While I waited for her to return, a vet tech waited in the room with me, holding the girl pup on the table. To my horror the vet tech reprimanded her with a "no ma'am", in response to a jerk movement from another seizure. For the sake of character limits, the summary to follow was that both puppies were euthanized. The sudden loss of two puppies was traumatic enough, but my experience at Long turned it to a literal nightmare.My complaint is not even about the lack of compassion I received, but solely for the unnecessary suffering the puppies endured. Had I not demanded to speak with a vet, they would have been sent home to slowly suffer. How did no one recognize their suffering and at the very least provide basic comfort care in the form of a sedative? Why were two dogs showing signs of a highly contagious virus going home without any warning of exposure to other animals? The test results weren't back yet, what if it was rabies? I've attempted to reach out to an office manager on multiple occasions with no response. My hope in sharing this experience is that Long will take a close look into their current practices and that pet parents will strongly consider their choice in veterinary care. Read Less