It is not customary for me to post any negative reviews anywhere. For purposes of this review, I will refer to my two cats as Angel#1 and Angel#2, as that is what these two boys were, the sweetest and most loving in the universe. One could only wish they could hold a candle to either of them. This review is to tell their story, and not let what they endured or their deaths be in vain.
I am going to post excerpts of a letter I had composed the day after the loss of Angel#1 and was ready to mail it, when I received a short letter from Small Animal Vets telling me that they would not “treat my pets” any longer. This was certainly okay with me, since I had zero intention of ever going near that place again.
Here are the excerpts:
Dr. O’Rourke:
Today I received a letter from your office stating you would no longer provide “care” to my pets. That is fine, as I had zero intention of that. “… because of your attitude and interactions with our doctors and staff during the past week …” What does that mean? Because I was crying and asked to speak with Ava in a calm way? Or when I was attempting to speak with Dr. Moore on the phone and she would not let me say anything? I have always been very kind and gracious to your staff. How dare you! You just cannot face the truth of what happened, nor do you have a legitimate response. Dr. Moore continuously said they followed PROTOCOL – over and over and over. “PROTOCOL.”
This letter is to document and make you aware of exactly what transpired in the room where Ava got Angel#1 all riled up, and the subsequent events. The trip to your facility that day left my heart feeling like someone hit it with a sledgehammer and stabbed it with a butcher knife. The events are indelibly inscribed into my psyche of how Angel#1 was hurt and how his life was cut short as he suffered and cried through those days.
At the outset, let me just express my dismay that you, yourself, did not have the courtesy and respect for yourself to call me regarding the events. I thought you owned that facility, but perhaps I am incorrect. Dr. Moore referred to the techs in that facility as “my techs.” It was inappropriate that she called me; she was not in the room, and Angel#1 and I were not there to see her. Her conduct was extremely disrespectful.
Another note for Dr. Moore: She told me to give Angel#2 some Pepto-Bismol when he was vomiting. I said “Pepto Bismol?” three times back to her. She said, yes, she gives it all the time. Dr. Moore (she was a horse doctor prior) should be made aware that a simple 10-second search online would tell you to NEVER - NEVER give a cat Pepto-Bismol, as it contains salicylates – aspirin – and can cause bleeding. Angel#2 is NOT A HORSE. I won’t go further right now. As far as Cerenia, I asked her if she would give Angel#2 half a dose (these cats are extremely sensitive and said I do not like injecting anything into them, as it cannot be reversed), to which she said, no, it would not work. See below:
“Cerenia should be used with care in cats that are suffering from hepatic dysfunction (liver disease), as the drug is metabolized by the liver. Vets may recommend a reduction in dose by 25-50% for such patients.” (You may want to read up on it.)
When we first went to draw blood from Angel#1, Ava nudged me out of the way and took Angel#1 by the scruff of his neck, TWISTED his head and pinned it down onto the table. As soon as she did that, Angel#1 became upset. I told Ava that she was hurting him. I repeated myself and said I would hold him. She ignored me and pushed his head down harder, to the point where I saw the whites of her knuckles and Angel#1 became more upset. I was sickened. I felt that baby’s pain. I had never seen Angel#1 do that before – SHE HURT HIM. He did not deserve that. I should have pushed her away from him.
Angel#1 had CKD – any animal that comes in, especially not well, should be treated KINDLY – soft words, petting – KINDNESS. NOT by having his head twisted and pinned down to a table. Angel#1 was SIX POUNDS – SIX POUNDS – SIX POUNDS. What kind of a person would do such a thing? Oh, it’s “PROTOCOL.”
You came into the room and I told you it wasn’t worth this – that you had that little bit of blood and you said you could check kidney and liver function in your office but that you were interested in his hemoglobin count. To which I said that he had been getting spirulina since that bloodwork was done several months back and that would help the hemoglobin count. You even asked how to spell “spirulina.” With that, I turned to go to the front desk to pay for this, and Angel#1 was whisked away to what turned out to be the back room. I NEVER let my cats out of my sight, as some of your staff are aware, as their frowns had been apparent to me in the past.
When I came back into the exam room, I heard Angel#1 SCREAMING in the back. I opened the door and you came over and said you couldn’t get blood and would sedate him, to which I adamantly said NO. I was in utter shock at the events. He was SIX POUNDS. Then you stated that you blew the veins in both of his legs and tried his neck, which was wet when I picked him up. I can just say I THANK GOD THAT HE GAVE ANGEL#1 THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT YOU – AS YOU WOULD HAVE LIKELY BLOWN HIS BRAINS OUT WITH THAT VEIN, TOO. “PROTOCOL.”
Then when Ingrid gave him fluids, yet another issue. The needle is huge and she stuck it in all the way, apparently angled incorrectly, into Angel#1’s little SIX-POUND thin body. I never heard him yell when he got fluids, but again it happened there. You seemed bewildered at how much fluids to give him and decided on 100 ml., which is about three ounces and that was still too much for his weight. Instead, he was given double the dosage – as soon as I came home, I weighed him on my scale and he was 6.5 ounces (200 ml.+) heavier than he weighed on the same scale before I left the house. I could hear gurgling as he was breathing for two days. That was in conjunction with him falling over to get to the litter box to have watery diarrhea early that evening. Was that Angel#1’s fault, too, or was it PROTOCOL??? I called your office on Saturday morning, the next day, and was told to call back on Monday.
I had called the office and said I never heard from anyone. Dr. Moore called me on Wednesday, two days later, and pretty much did not allow me to say very much (she would hear nothing), until I finally said, “Excuse me, Dr. Moore, may I please finish what I am trying to say?” She was very curt with me and said she did not have to “listen to this.” She said, “I know my techs and they follow PROTOCOL.” What the h*ll is PROTOCOL? Twist a SIX-POUND CKD BABY’S NECK AND HOLD IT DOWN? Do any of you know about COMPASSION??? My God! She then said that, since I was not “happy” with the “care” my pets received, that she is going to give me my records and I should go elsewhere. I asked, “Is this how you handle this?” Dr. Moore’s exact word was, “YUP.” Who would be happy with that?? And her hollow words, “I’m sorry for your loss.” No kindness, no empathy, no compassion, no apology for Angel#1. Hollow.
Note for Dr. Moore: ANGEL#1 IS A – WAS – A SIX-POUND PERSIAN CAT. NOT A HORSE.
Was this Angel#1’s fault? Blame the SIX-POUND terrorized CKD cat? Was it MY fault? I blame myself for ever bringing him there that day, and I will live with that forever.
What the h*ll ever happened to “First, do no harm”? Was that line taken out of your oath??
That night, Friday, Angel#1 cried all night. He tried to eat for two days and let out cries of pain as he tried to pick up food and masticate. He was rolling his head around and his front arms were collapsing on him. He did not want me to touch him, as he curled up in a ball in the corner. I painfully sat with him and watched this progress for two days, as did Angel#2. YOU HURT HIM.
Let’s move now to the morning I brought Angel#1 in to be euthanized. I was in tears and Angel#1 was still hurting. Not one word was spoken. I was brought into the back room with Angel#1. I saw the tech had her hands holding his neck as if she was scruffing him while he laid there. I asked her to please not hurt him. She said she was “petting him.” A doctor whom I did not know had come in and said, “Okay, this is gonna feel like a bee sting!” With that, she jabbed him HARD with her hand cupped around the syringe. Angel#1 jumped and let out a scream that I couldn’t believe. I had euthanized animals before and NEVER heard anything like that. NEVER. She then flipped around and said, “I told you it was gonna feel like a bee sting!” She walked out and said she would be back in five minutes to finish. ICE COLD. She never gave him a tranquilizer to sedate him prior to STABBING him hard with that huge syringe. I WAS IN TOTAL SHOCK and fell over Angel#1’s body as she walked out of the room, crying and telling him I love him and how sorry I was for all of this. This is totally against accepted veterinary standards.
What is WRONG with you people over there?? You STOLE the life force from this little baby and, even at his last breaths, you HURT him yet again. HE WAS SIX POUNDS. And you stole the enjoyment of the rest of his life from ME. Where was the compassion? Who would ever expect to take a cat to a vet on Friday for a relatively benign visit and then have to euthanize him three days later as a result?? Oh, it’s “PROTOCOL.” Stick your protocol up you a*ses and choke on it. Cold is not the word. I guess that’s all part of the “doctor” thing over there. You think you are gods and above others, but you are no better than anyone else. Stop thinking you are. If you do not like to be questioned or criticized, don’t go to “doctor” school. You kept adding insult to injury. Your souls were stolen at birth.
ANIMALS ARE A GIFT FROM GOD. YOU SHOULD NEVER DISTURB THEIR PEACE.
FIRST DO NO HARM. FIRST DO NO HARM. FIRST DO NO HARM.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Another note regarding Angel#2 for Dr. Moore: You ordered 175 ml. of fluid on two occasions for Angel#2. You detected a heart murmur at that time. The most you should have given him was no more than approximately 60 ml. of fluid. The formula is 10-20 ml. per KG of body weight, to be reduced in the event of a heart murmur. KG is 2.2 pounds. Get a calculator. I reported to you that he was laying down and lethargic for five days and no vomiting. You said good.
That says it all. I need not say more. You, Dr. O’Rourke, had said you couldn’t find any vets to work for you. You, Dr. O’Rourke, have never responded ONE word to me. You said you do all the surgeries over there. Are you incapable of speaking?
You could only WISH you all had the dignity, sweetness and kindness that that little baby had, as he crawled into the litter box at the end. You don’t. You never will. You will answer to God, our Creator, for what you have done. And He promises you WILL feel His wrath.
I had to request on two occasions to obtain the records on both my Persian cats. When I received them a week later, they were clearly “ad-libbed” and inaccurate for what transpired to create their narrative after speaking with Dr. Moore. I had requested on two more occasions to receive the paperwork that I signed prior to euthanization for the cremation. When I got home, a copy of that signed paperwork was NOT included with the bill. I again requested that document, which was ignored. Again, I requested it and reminded them that, by law, they must comply. Then they said they did not have it, that they attached it to Angel#1’s body. I had searched for a crematorium online for Angel#1’s, as I did not know what they did with him, and ultimately found it. Crying, I begged them to please not send his ashes back to Small Animal Vet Associates and we agreed on where I would obtain them. My heart had been destroyed and I was worried that I would never see his ashes come home.
People can decide for themselves where they go. My family was destroyed by a decision to go there that I will regret for the rest of my life. The anguish and pain in our hearts is palpable every day, as I also lost Angel#2 just 13 days later, wandering around looking for Angel#1, directly related to the loss of his brother – they had been together for over 15 years and he was doing better. He gave up and died of a broken heart. What sentient human being could EVER do such a thing to an animal or a child?
by Maggie
xxx.xxx.206.118
March 07, 2023
