I brought my 11 year old dog here because he had all the signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure. I was initially caught off guard that I had to pre-pay for an exam. I told the receptionist that I came in because I thought my dog had CHF, so I'm sure I will have to pay for medicine later. I didn't understand why I needed to pay first rather than paying for the entire bill at the end. After the exam he suggested x-rays for another $300 which I again had to go up to the front and pay for before he would complete them. He completed the x-ray and showed me the images of my dog’s enlarged heart and lungs, and excess fluid in his belly. Still, he suggested more treatment, such as a heart worm test, saying the heart and lung condition could be unrelated. I told him I am very knowledgeable about congestive heart failure and I know that the swollen lungs is from the blood pooling back into them because the heart isn't pumping efficiently. He said that ""could be a possibility"", and said he would prescribe an antibiotic and something to get rid of the fluid. I asked if he was prescribing Lasix, a diuretic, and he said yes. I told him it was the same thing as what humans take, and I could get it filled much cheaper at Walgreens if he would write the prescriptions for it and the Cephalexin. He claimed to be unsure if it was the same drug. (I am a pharmacy graduate, so if I know what congestive heart failure looks like and that the medicines were human medicines he should definitely have known). He wanted to charge me $47 for each medicine and it was only a 7 day supply. I could have paid 1/3 of the cost at Walgreens. I called Walgreens while I was in his office to ask the price for the two medicines. The Pharmacist on duty told me to tell him to write for 25mg of Lasix because it did not come in 12.5mg for humans, which I could break the scored pill in half to create a 12.5mg twice a day dose. He refused to write for 1/2 pill twice a day, saying it was against the law. I might have fallen for this if I was not familiar with pharmacy and prescription law. Furthermore he said he charges $15 dollars per prescription to write it if he doesn't fill it in his office. By the time I left out of there I paid $442 (swiping my card 3 times throughout the visit) for him to not even admit to the fact that my dog has CHF. Additionally, when I asked for the radiology report and x-rays I was told that will be a $15 fee for giving them to me. Needless to say I will get my report and x-rays tomorrow and I will not be back!!!! This Vet is only concerned about money.
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