Update on Holly's surgery today
 

I dropped Holly off at the vet about 7:30 am for her spay, teeth extractions and micro chip. They told me to have her there between 7 and 8 am. So 3:00 pm comes around and I have heard nothing. I called and they had not done the surgery yet! They said they were having a busy surgery day and because I would not be able to pick her up until tomorrow afternoon instead of tomorrow morning, they bumped her to the end of the surgery schedule. My poor baby has sat there in a cage all day long, starving and scared and I spent the whole day worrying, totally unproductive at work to make life more convenient for the VET CLINIC! The least they could have done was call me and let me know what they had planned. I'm sorry but I am tired and a bit P.O.'d at present. I hung up and then thought about calling back and saying I would come get her and bring her home, and we could reschedule, but I didn't. I probably should have. Thanks for letting me vent. I so hope she is in surgery and will be done soon so we both can relax. If I had not gotten such good care from them in the past, I would seriously consider changing vets because of this. When I cool off maybe I can think of a nice way to tell them off. :mad:

Sorry to hear this about poor Holly. I'm sure she's fine though.

We all worry WAAAAAAY too much.:)

Poor Holly :( They wouldn't let you bring her home and drop her off in the morning? I hope she is ok! Let us know any new information

I would be so mad! Both of you stressed longer than needed. I hope she had surgery now. I would pick her up in the morning if she had surgery today

The vet just called. Holly is out of surgery and is doing fine, thank goodness. She has to stay 24 hours or so, I have an appt. to pick her up tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 pm. I'm glad it's over. Do I expect too much to want just a bit of customer service? After all of the money I have left at that clinic....time to let it go and send positive thoughts Holly's way for a rapid, uncomplicated recovery. Poor little baby girl!

Thank you!

I am glad Holly is doing well...My prayer is that she feel your love wrapped around her...she knows mommy loves her...peace all around her!!!

Glad she's ok....

That's rotten. They shouldn't make the small dogs wait that long. Glad her surgery is over now, though!

I'm sure you were more worried then Holly was. The drop off time is set so that all the patients are there and ready for surgery. Usually a surgery schedule isn't set until they see which patients are coming in for the day. Sometimes surgery's cancel, and sometimes they get in emergencies so they can't determine the schedule until after surgery appointments are seen or dropped off. i know its frustrating for the owner to be waiting and not knowing if their dog has gone into surgery or not. My hospital gets in a lot of surgeries everyday. schedules are starting time vary each day. There can sometimes be 10 surgeries or more in a day. When this happens our receptionist will call the owners in the early afternoon to tell them their dog hasn't had surgery yet but is going in soon. your vet probably should have called to tell you she wasn't going to go until later that afternoon, but i agree with them that she did need to be dropped off at the time they told you. Most of the time the dogs sleep in their kennels or just watch what's going on.

it may be frustrating to the owner but think from the vet clinic's point of view too. Say they have 5 surgeries to do that day. Originally Holly was scheduled to go 3rd because there were two major surgeries ahead of her. So they prep the 1st pet and get it ready for surgery. While that pet is in surgery for an hour or so, the next pet is being prep'd (blood work, x-rays, U/S, whatever). What if the second pet in the line up can't go right away for whatever reason (they have to do another test before they can procede) and they are ready for the next case? If Holly isn't there because you wanted to keep her home longer for your piece of mind then she misses out and won't get done until much later. She gets bumped and the others end up going before her.

schedules can change throughout the day depending on stability of patients, test and retests, availability of instruments, and emergencies.

I don't mean to make it sound like your worries and frustration are not important because they are. However the frustration can go both ways. The vet is just trying to do his job and you are a wonderful caring owner that just wants the best for their baby. Try to see it their way too and don't blow up at them. Their goal is to help the animals, not piss you off.

I would be more than pissed...she luckily didn't have a hypoglycemic attack from fasting that long for her surgery.

Honestly that wouldn't happen. wait, i retract that. If the vet is good, then they will know a small pup such as a yorkie should have its sugar level monitored and if they are concerned about it they should start the pup on IV fluids with dextrose added to the bag to avoid low blood sugar. i can't say that's what they did, or if that's what a general practice would do, but its the right thing to do.

In the words of a famous philosopher (name escapes me) "Imagine the ideal. Describe the reality." It is the unknown of the "reality" that scares us half to death. I can understand Kalina82 wanting to defend others in her profession, but Holly is my kid. No offense intended. BUT, I doubt anyone would have such a response if it were a skin kid we were talking about here. If it were a skin kid, I would be there with her and would know what is going on. I could make sure they were maintaining her blood sugar and hydration. For the money I pay this clinic for vet care (6 animals yearly plus dentals and Gracie just had her LP surgery to the tune of over $3500), I think the least I can expect is some honesty about what is happening to my baby and a phone call or two during the day to keep me updated. I was there yesterday with one of the cats and was kept waiting for an emergency. I was more than understanding and more than accommodating, who would not be? All I can do is sit here tonight and trust that my Holly is being well cared for. I didn't post my frustration to start something. I just needed to vent. I do appreciate the support I have received. I will try to post an update on Holly tomorrow evening.

I appreciate this post. I didnt know how it worked. I thought you had an appt for a surgery at a certain time and that was it.
Doesnt excuse the office staff from contacting her, but I am glad to know the process. Thanks.

Glad to hear that the surgery is over and that your baby will be home again tomorrow.

It is frustrating to have to wait for updates. The last time Ozzie was in the hospital, I had to call every 45 minutes to finally get the doctor on the line. (I didn't want to go there and upset Ozzie by having to leave him again.)

I'm so glad Holly is out of surgery and doing well. I would have been mad and I would've been a wreck all day too!! I appreciate my vets so much when I hear stories like this. I go to Adobe Animal Hospital here in the Bay Area, CA and they have a completely open door policy. I can be with my baby anywhere in the hospital and that includes ICU and the operating room. When my girls got spayed I was the one who held them when they got their anathesia, I watched the surgery and I was the one who held them when they woke up from it. It puts my mind at ease knowing that I can be there for them and that the hospital has nothing to hide. Maybe you could find a vet that has a more open policy. Speedy recovery for Holly.

aww, poor Holly . . . .but I think I feel more for Mommy as she probably has not clue what is coming down, other than perhaps "where is mommy"? :(

Tomorrow will come sooner than you think. I will pray for your little angel.

huggles from my furfamily.

Yeah if there was an emergency surgery then that would have been the priority. For example i got my year old akita X black lab spayed and the next day she tore out her stiches(sp?) and had guts etc (sorry! lol) hanging out. And this guy who was just a walk-in complained that he had been waiting a whole.....get this..... 10 minutes! and that they should vaccinate his puppy before re-stiching my dog! anyway the main thing is that she is spayed and doing well!

Holly is Home!
 

Holly is home from the hospital. She is tired, hungry and more than happy to be home! She has no sutures, was sent home with Rimadyl for pain. She is supposed to be quiet for 3 days and no heavy activity (walking, jumping) for 10 days. She had 4 baby teeth removed and got her micro chip. We are very glad this is over. Her incision looks a bit red, she has an E-collar to wear so hopefully it will heal up.

WOW! I just found this thread. I am so very sorry that you and Holly had such a horrible pre-op experience, but I am so glad that she is home and that all is well.

I would definately have a talk with the vet -- on a professional level -- about your concerns. I would give him an opportunity to explain what went wrong and caused the long wait. Then I would present him with an extra special pan of brownies made with Ex-lax!

Ha Ha Ha, my sentiments exlactly!

I am glad all is well, praying for a pain free recovery.

ROFL!!! Cindy, ,you so bad,, LOL

Wow! people are nuts!!!!!!!! Every time I go to my vet, which is at least once a month, I wait a minimum of 20 minutes. They are extremely busy, but I totally trust them and they saved Bellas life. Well worth the wait.