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Review content:
My dog, an epileptic lab mix with hip dysplasia, had been on a down-hill slide. His epilepsy was controlled for many years fairly well with phenobarbital, but the last 6 months proved very difficult from him, going from bi-monthly seizures, to weekly seizures. Eventually the drug dosage was increased so much that he was simply a walking zombie. After 3 hours of cluster seizures, my wife and I agreed it was time to let the dog rest, that his quality of life had diminished to the point where he was suffering. We arrived at the ""emergency"" hospital at 4:00 pm. We were first seen by a physical person at 4:25 pm. We were finally seen by a ""qualified vet"" at 5:40 pm. One hour, forty minutes later, the emergency room finally took pity on a dog that was seizing in their lobby to actually see him. Unfortunately, the seizures took a momentary rest, and the dog was 30-40% lucid. Too uncoordinated to walk around, but able to respond to interaction.
The vet was not convinced the dog deserved to die, and made my wife and I beg to bring mercy and peace to the dog. She refused saying she had to sleep at night, and the dog did not appear to suffer. At 6:15, we gave up and said we would take the dog home and hope for the best. Even though we requested a ""no-consulation euthinasia,"" we were charged $80.00 for the consulation. On the way out to the truck, the dog had another seizure. The vet walked out to view the dog afterwards, the seizure was already over, but the dog was still ""out of it."" She decided she would examine the dog one more time in the back, saying that they could keep the dog over night ($$$) and see what would happen. We asked for mercy, but again were denied. When she went back to look at the dog again, he seized in front of her. Finally, at 6:45, the vet decided our concerns were valid, and putting the dog down was the right thing. It took an ""emergency"" clinic 2 hours, 45 minutes to finally agree to the treatment that was recommeneded by (1) the dog owners (2) the rescue group that we got the dog from and (3) a veterinary technician that has been following his case since he was 6 weeks old.
This nightmare of emotional rollercoaster was fabricated solely so she could ""sleep at night."" She made one of the most painful and excrutiating processes in a pet owners life, which should take 15-20minutes, take 2 hours and 45 minutes.
I cannot speak for this clinics abiilty to care for animals in a regular sense, but if you are in need of emergency care, seek help elsewhere. For you and your animals sake.
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