This is my wife’s review which might save your pet’s life. Unfortunately, it keeps getting taken down:
We are posting this in the hopes that no one will have to go through what our dog did and no dog owners will have to lose their pet prematurely. In April 2021, our dog had surgery at VCA to remove her spleen and do a liver biopsy.
When we picked up our dog on the morning after the surgery, she did not look well, but they had said she was ok to go home. She died approximately 3 hours later as we tried to rush her back to Guelph. We are beyond heartbroken. She should not have died from this surgery. Our primary care vet was in shock that our dog had died from this surgery. Taking our dog to VCA was the Absolute Worst Decision of Our Lives.
Here are the things we learned in the worst possible way:
- Find out the warning signs to look for if your pet has trouble after a surgery. Our discharge papers contained no relevant information. Some examples of post surgery problems: Pale gums, Depression, Unsteady gait, Loss of appetite or decreased water intake, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Discharge or bleeding from the incision, Labored breathing.
- Not everything is cancer. Get detailed information on why a vet is implying that a lesion is cancer. The chance of something being cancer can be very different if a lesion is found “incidentally” which our dog's was. Do your own research.
- Make sure your dog has all vital signs checked right when you pick your dog up. There are actually dog collars that can monitor a dog’s vital signs – all vets should be buying those.