We brought our dog Wagz to Duxbury Animal Hospital in May 2024 when he was clearly unwell -- not…read moreeating, low energy, and visibly deteriorating. We saw two different doctors across two visits (Monday and Wednesday of the same week). Both felt something abnormal in his abdomen, and both were fixated on the idea that he had eaten something that was stuck -- despite the fact that X-rays showed no such obstruction. No other explanations were considered.
After performing full bloodwork and diagnostics on Monday, they repeated the exact same tests again on Wednesday. This not only added significantly to our bill, but in hindsight, feels like a clear indication that the initial work-up wasn't thorough enough. Especially troubling is that Wagz's bloodwork showed elevated calcium and kidney levels -- markers that should have raised concern.
Less than 24 hours after our second appointment, we brought Wagz to the emergency room. The ER doctor identified swollen lymph nodes within minutes, suspected cancer, and referred us to oncology. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and required three days of emergency hospitalization.
Duxbury now claims his lymph nodes weren't swollen on Monday or Wednesday -- something we find extremely hard to believe, given how quickly they were detected by another clinician less than 24 hours later. At the very least, the combination of red flags -- the exam findings, abnormal labs, and how sick he looked -- should have led to more urgency and better guidance.
After his diagnosis, we reached out to Duxbury hoping they might show some compassion -- especially given the duplicated tests, the financial toll of delayed care, and the painful experience of watching our young dog get sicker while we chased the wrong answers. Instead, they stood by their process and offered a $250 credit for future services -- a gesture that felt not only inadequate, but tone-deaf.
We're not trying to assign blame. We understand medicine is complex, and diagnoses can be difficult. But the lack of accountability -- and more importantly, the absence of real empathy -- was deeply disappointing. Our family is now navigating a heartbreaking diagnosis we can't change, but what could have been different was the way we got here -- and the three-day ER stay that might have been avoided if things had been handled differently.
We're sharing this because other families deserve to know what we went through. Duxbury's reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and we're not here to discredit that -- but if we had read a story like ours, we might have made different decisions. And that's why we believe this experience is worth sharing.
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Update: Our Response to the Owner's Comment
We appreciate your response, though we're disappointed by the lack of acknowledgment of the specific concerns we raised. Our issue was never about misunderstanding how referrals work, but about the decisions made during our visits that ultimately delayed critical care for our dog, Wagz.
To clarify:
- The same diagnostics were performed twice in one week without any change in care direction.
- Elevated kidney and calcium levels were missed, which the ER team immediately recognized as significant.
- Both Duxbury doctors felt something abnormal in his abdomen, yet continued to focus on a possible obstruction despite clear x-rays--no consideration was given to other explanations like swelling or cancer.
- Less than 24 hours after our second visit, an ER vet--not an oncologist--diagnosed Wagz with likely lymphoma within minutes of examination, based on severely enlarged lymph nodes.
We reached out not to assign blame, but to express how devastating it was to face a three-day ICU stay and large emergency costs--expenses that could have been avoided with earlier action. The offer of a future credit felt out of touch given our experience and our dog's condition.
We're not here to argue, only to share our experience so others can decide for themselves. We won't be commenting further.
