I wanted to address the claims of Susan B.'s review. I was the veterinarian who treated her Great Dane that night. He was diagnosed with a GDV- which is when the stomach bloats and rotates onto itself- It is a LIFE THREATENING SURGICAL EMERGENCY. These clients recognized the symptoms and brought him to the hospital but were not financially prepared to get him the care that was needed to save his life. No matter where you have this type of surgery done, it is extremely expensive to treat these cases. They are often in the hospital for 3-4 days. There are many complications that can develop. As an emergency veterinarian the worst part of my job is seeing pets who I can fix but whose owners cannot afford to pay for their care. Unfortunately it is extremely expensive to run a 24 hour critical care veterinary hospital. We all work very hard under very stressful circumstances, every holiday, all night long. We are very dedicated professionals and strive to provide the best medicine possible for our patients. The clinic owners HAVE to require that clients pay for services or they would go out of business. It is tragic for all of us when owners are not financially prepared for veterinary emergencies. Yes, we encourage people who do not have any form of payment to try to borrow from a friend or family member. In this case the clients declined to do that and elected euthanasia. They signed a euthanasia consent form and I drew up the solution for his injection. Miraculously a staff member at the last moment offered to rescue this older dog (and take on the financial responsibility of his medical expenses). It is very uncommon that we can offer relinquishment to rescue in lieu of euthanasia. At the time these clients told me "We would much rather him be alive and with someone else than dead". We did not steal their dog. He was seconds away from euthanasia because the clients wouldn't pay for the surgery that was needed to save his life. It is a miracle that someone was able to rescue him that night.
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