I have been a client of Glenville Veterinary Clinic for several years. Over these years, Dr. Bart has earned my respect and most importantly, my trust. However, recent events have not only changed my opinion of this veterinarian but have also made me question why I was so willing to trust him initially in the care of my beloved Mimi.
I adopted Mimi, a 9 year old great dane about two and a half years ago. Mimi had 1 litter and was never spayed. We discussed spaying her at the initial visit as he mentioned that she could get pyometra, a uterine infection that can be fatal. I told him I was worried about her undergoing anesthesia secondary to her age. Now since I have no background in science or medicine, I trusted Dr. Bart to educate me on the importance of this surgery and why it would be in Mimi's best interest. With this said, he should have told me what the literature says, which is basically that the chances of her dying from general anesthesia are very unlikely, and that she should really be spayed as pyometra is quite common in great danes. Instead of informing me of the risks and benefits involved, he just said okay and decided that we wouldn't spay Mimi.
For the past year, Mimi has not been herself. She has had multiple episodes of appetite loss, frequent urination and excessive licking of her private parts. I have brought her to be checked by Dr. Bart at least 20 times. He continued to be puzzled by her symptoms and would treat her with various antibiotics without a diagnosis.
Two months ago, Mimi took a turn for the worse. She developed a fever of unknown origin. He treated her with Baytril for two months, in spite of not knowing the source. He worried about pyometra and performed what he called a negative ultrasound. Dr. Bart decided to stop the antibiotics after two months despite a fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit. This was not replaced by another antibiotic. Two days later, she awoke with diarrhea, disorientation and spasms. I called Dr. Bart immediately. He arrived two hours later to help me load her into my van. It was then, he decided that she had pyometra and did an emergency spaying. Mimi lived for 39 hours after the spaying.
I'm extremely disappointed in Dr. Bart as Mimi's death was completely preventable. At the initial visit, he should have told me that spaying her was really the best decision and not to worry about the anesthesia. Furthermore, he should have mentioned that a second opinion may be a good idea as he is unsure of the diagnosis. I reached out to him so many times but to no avail. He never dug deeper into her symptoms to find the actual cause of the problem. I will never forgive myself for not getting a second opinion from a different veterinarian and I will never forgive myself for trusting Dr. Bart. read more