I don't have enough words for how awful this place is.
The first time I took Serendipity here, it was June 28. She was vaccinated and I was told by Dr. Wolfe that she was healthy other than a few fle... Read More
I don't have enough words for how awful this place is.
The first time I took Serendipity here, it was June 28. She was vaccinated and I was told by Dr. Wolfe that she was healthy other than a few fleas (and an allergic reaction to them) and some ear mites. On July 4, she wouldn't eat her dinner. We thought she might have been scared from the fireworks. July 5, she wouldn't eat breakfast and was still acting off, so I brought her back to Will Rogers Animal Hospital. She had blood drawn for a general health profile. When Dr. Wolfe reviewed the results, she said that other than a high liver value (ALT) she couldn't see anything wrong. On July 6, I brought her back. They put her on IV fluids and ondansetron for nausea. Dr. Wolfe gave her back to me around 6, saying that she wasn't able to help her. I immediately drove her to Oklahoma Veterinary Specialists in Tulsa. The first doctor I saw there, Dr Hough, took one look at Serendipity's blood work (which I brought with me) and saw her neutrophil count. She noted the diarrhea (which is very distinct with panleukopenia and which they had seen several times at Will Rogers) and determined that she should start by using a canine parvo test. Canine parvo differs from panleukopenia/distemper/feline parvo slightly, but the results of the test are accurate. She was positive.
During her stay at OVS, she eventually declined. We had to say goodbye late Monday.
I called Will Rogers on Saturday and Monday to let them know that Serendipity had panleukopenia and that it's extremely contagious. This virus lives for over a year at room temperature and kills 90% of the cats it infects. (There is a vaccine for it but I've noticed that a lot of people in this area don't vaccinate, especially when they let their cats loose and turn them into strays. If Serendipity had been vaccinated as a kitten, she would be alive today.)
Because I had not received any acknowledgment or response from Will Rogers Animal Hospital yet, I gathered my courage, choked down my tears, and called again. I was on hold for almost 20 minutes before I got a chance to speak to the desk clerk. She put me through to Denise, a vet technician. (I had first met Denise at Banfield in Owasso. I thought she was a good vet tech at the time.)
I told Denise, calmly but firmly and without any rudeness, what I've outlined here. Serendipity was sick, she may have even contracted the virus there, and now she's dead. The virus spreads rapidly, is extremely contagious, and is hard to kill through disinfection. I wanted to verify that they used the correct concentration of bleach when disinfecting. She said she wouldn't tell me. I wanted to find out if they had any other kitty patients from Thursday to today. She told me she wouldn't share that information with me to "protect" their clients. I told her I wanted to make sure they contacted their owners to let them know that they may have been exposed to the virus. She said she wouldn't tell me. She would not confirm how they disinfected things.
When I said this, Denise started yelling. She said, "Do YOU know the correct concentration of bleach? Are YOU an expert in panleukopenia? Dr Wallis has been a veterinarian for years and he knows what he's doing." I attempted to respond. She continued shouting over me, said something along the lines of, "You can call whoever you need to," after I said I could just call the Oklahoma Veterinary Board, and slammed the phone down.
This picture is of Serendipity in her final moments. She was screaming out every few minutes. I couldn't touch her with my bare hands the whole time she was at OVS because panleukopenia is so contagious. She was in the isolation ward and everyone had to undergo decontamination procedures upon exiting her room.
If you have a cat and have visited here in the last two weeks, PLEASE get your cat tested/vaccinated. I cannot stand the thought that anyone else - feline or human - may suffer the same fate due to the incompetence of the medical staff here. This causes an AWFUL death and we paid over $3k to try to save her. We failed. Read Less