I had to drive 2+ hours from Jackson, MS to Hattiesburg to Animal Medical Center on April 29, 2024…read morefor emergency surgery. My Golden Retriever, Max, was bleeding into a splenic mass and was anemic. He was 11-12 years old.
I am a physician, an anesthesiologist for over 40 years, so I understood the gravity of the situation.
Even before I arrived, Dr. Mayfield, II, called me on the phone to check on us. When we arrived, the employees immediately carried him out of my car for emergency surgery for treatment and diagnosis. Dr. Mayfield thoroughly discussed what we would do if the diagnosis was dire.
They started blood and took him back to surgery within 30 minutes.
The diagnosis was dire: he had a splenic mass full of tumor, with metastasis to his pancreas, liver, bowel, and kidney. Dr. Mayfield called me and took me back to surgery to see Max under anesthesia, and I said my goodbyes and let him go....
Dr. Mayfield then spent additional mourning moments with me and was very kind.
I then made cremation arrangements and delivery of the remains to me.
I also asked for histology on the tumors, as I had lost another Golden, Luka, age 13 or14, to hemangiosarcoma last year.
Dr. Mayfield called me about 2 weeks later to say the pathologist reported high-grade lymphoma.
The entire treatment, including the cremation, was very expensive--about $4000. As a physician, I understand the high costs of surgery, blood transfusion, anesthesia and other veterinary technicians.
Everyone at the Center was extremely kind to me throughout my ordeal at their clinic. I was so thankful that there was a full-service surgery/ICU clinic available to me on that day.
From the moment I arrived there, I felt that Max would be well-cared for by Dr. Mayfield and his staff, and he was.
