I took my dog in for her annual vaccines. I was 5 minutes early for my appointment, but ended up waiting thirty minutes for my doctor to come and get us. She still wasn't finished with her prior appointment and since my dog had a slight allergic reaction to her vaccinations the last time, she asked that I leave her with them to monitor her reaction. It seemed a little over-the-top in comparison to how minor her last reaction had been, but I went with it to be safe. I left her there for the day and got a call before I was to pick her up telling me that she did not have a reaction but they had found a heart murmur. When I went in to speak with the vet, she explained to me that heart murmurs are judged on a scale of 1-4 and that hers was between a 2-3 in severity. Naturally this completely freaked me out that my 7 year old healthy dog had suddenly developed a moderate heart murmur. The doctor gave me an estimate on the types of tests she would recommend in order to make sure there wasn't a larger problem. The estimate ran between $700-$1100. I called my hometown vet to speak with him regarding this since these prices seemed insane. He told me while most of the tests may not be necessary, that it would be wise to schedule an EKG and some blood work. I set up my appointment for the EKG and blood work a few weeks later and was put with a different doctor. Apparently no one ever bothered to check my dog's history because when I went in, they began doing the tests stating that she was getting ready for a teeth cleaning...no mention of the murmur. I decided not to correct them that we were there to check out her murmur until they had completed the EKG. The EKG read perfectly normal...they remarked that it couldn't have gone much better. I then explained to them what I had been told on my previous visit and asked if they hadn't seen any signs of it and they seemed a bit stumped. There was no murmur but they told me sometimes a murmur can occur in a dog who was in distressed (i.e. a dog who has never been boarded left at the vet for vaccines by herself?). Her bloodwork came back perfect. She's in wonderful health, which I am very grateful for and I don't mind going the extra mile for her well-being, but it seems like the ball was dropped here. First, I would think a doctor might notice a dog is distressed instead of scaring the owner that the dog has a heart problem. Secondly, why did no one notice in her records that we were following up on the previous appointment? I feel as though the clinic tries to upsell unnecessary procedures to increase the bills. About 2 months later I called to get a Certificate of Health so I could take my dog on a plane and they refused!! Apparently they needed to perform ANOTHER unnecessary exam to give me the certificate. I guess they felt they hadn't milked enough money out ot me on the other tests she had just been through. Needless to say, I'm in the market for a new vet. Beware! This places is the worst....
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