Do not take your pets to Deland Animal Hospital they are incompetent and greedy. I took my dog, Cocoa, there for fluid buildup in her throat and she panted nonstop. Dr. Macphail said there was no fluid and he dismissed the panting; he diagnosed her with a simple insect bite and prescribed some medications. \r
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I took Cocoa back three days later after she swelled up more and then he decided it was fluid. He said it was probably a ruptured salivary gland and took a sample of the fluid and sent it off for testing. I asked him if he should take an x-ray and he said it was necessary. \r
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Two days later I took Cocoa back because the fluid was in her neck, chest, legs, and face and was coming out her eyes. Later that day the lab results came back and said it was a ruptured cyst. Dr. Macphail said he would need to surgically remove it and that it would be about $200 - $300 if it was easy to locate or $500 - $600 if it was more evasive. The next day, I brought Cocoa in for surgery and the estimate was $700 - $800. After I said I was leaving and would take her to another vet, the receptionist said the estimate included $200 in optional tests (she said nothing about the estimate including optional services until I said I was leaving and no where on the estimate did it say any tests were optional). The estimate was presented as though it would be $700 - $800 for the whole procedure. Also, no where on the estimate did it say anything about the $200 - $300 if the cyst was easy to locate. Later that morning, I received a call from Dr. Macphail who said the diagnosis was wrong yet again. It seems that after prepping Cocoa for surgery the vet could not locate the cyst so he decided to do an x-ray (remember, I asked him if he should do an x-ray three days before that). The x-ray revealed that Cocoa had a massive tumor in her chest that was pushing on all her internal organs including her trachea and esophagus. So, one week after the initial diagnosis I had to put her to sleep. \r
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So, there you are. The symptoms I gave Dr. Macphail were repeatedly dismissed resulting in Cocoa being misdiagnosed three times and unnecessary and costly tests and medications being prescribed. He also charged for an office visit each time I brought her back and they also tried to charge me an extra $200 for the surgery to remove the cyst that wasn’t even there. I do, however, realize that even if he had done the x-ray in the beginning it still would not have saved Cocoa’s life. However, that doesn’t make up for the feeling of relief I had when I left that first day from the vet being told it was just a simple insect bite only to find out a week later that she had a massive tumor and my only real viable option was to put her to sleep.
Pros: No Pros.
Cons: Cons - Incompetent
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