My usual and preferred vet is Dr. Stoltz in Washington. However, I was working Thursday, and because Bandit, our cat, was in such pain, TJ opted to not make that drive and go to Sullivan. He had an obstruction in his urinary tract. We were told that if all went well, he would come home Monday. They catheterized him and gave him IV fluids.
On Sunday, we got awoken early by a call from Dr.Bouse, saying that Bandit's bloodwork was indicating kidney failure, and that he would recommend euthanasia. We were hit with this news fresh out of sleep, we had plans on Sunday, we were not expecting this. We told him that we would be in Monday afternoon to make the decision that nobody wants to have to make. But we assumed that Bandit was stable, comfortable. He didn't say otherwise. But I had a feeling. I told TJ that maybe we should go see him. We tried calling back, but he didn't answer. So we stopped by on our way out of town, about 45 mins later. Two cars were in the lot, and lights on inside. I beat on the door for 25 mins, called the emergency answering service, and finally someone called me back. She offered to come up, but said it would take her 30mins to get there. We couldn't wait that long, we had already been there over 30 mins trying to get someone to come to the door, which they maintain was a couple high school kids, and they wouldn't let them open for us to see Bandit for a few minutes. My feeling was right, because by 7pm Sunday we got the call that he had passed.
So we go up there Monday, on the day he was supposed to come home. And I let them know that had we been told about the shape Bandit was in, we would have been there within 30mins Sunday morning. To see him and love on him one last time. We thought the vet was suggesting euthanasia because there's no returning from kidney failure, and he kept getting obstructed when the catheter came out, and obviously he couldn't go on like that. But we thought he was stable, comfortable, in good hands. He did not fully disclose Bandit's condition, and you rely on a vet to be your eyes/ears when you can't see your pet. So we got into it Monday, and we took Bandit to my regular vet in Washington to handle the cremation.
They gave me a copy of Bandit's chart Monday. And I sat down and looked at it that night. On Sunday's notes, Bandit was 'markedly lethargic and yowling'. He was going downhill. He was suffering. And he died alone, because that information was not handed to us. If I saw a pet in that condition, I would assume they don't have long. And I would let their family know, so they could say goodbye. We were ripped of that.
I went back up there Tuesday. Where I was met with hostility from the office manager, who kept interrupting me, and basically telling me that 'it's a done deal and nothing can be done about it.' And when I said she was going to hear me out, she threatened to call the cops. Then another 'professional' behind the desk up there, started attacking me, saying our cat was in "bad shape when we brought him in, and Dr. Bouse worked all weekend on him." (Like yeah, a bladder obstruction is an emergency, and if we didn't care about our cat, we wouldn't have brought him to the vet. Bandit was also 18.5 lbs, and in no way neglected, just saying. And it's the vets damn job to take care of the animals? And trust me, a $350 bill, we're paying for it!) And we "brought him in on Thursday and never visited him" (they're not even letting people into the exam rooms with their pets due to Covid) and a whole slew of other wonderful things. And when I asked for them to refund us some of our money, because at this point, there's not much they can do to make things right, and Bandit can't be brought back, the office manager looked at me and goes "Oh, so that's what this is about-money."
They were unapologetic. They kept defending the vet, saying he's great, etc. They would not admit a communication breakdown, that lead to Bandit suffering and dying alone because he was not forthcoming with how bad off he was. And that is forever burned into my brain. He also wrote that "we would think about it and call back" in his notes. That's inaccurate. We told him we'd be in Monday as soon as TJ got home from work. We would have been in immediately had we known that Bandit was 'lethargic and yowling'. read more