CyberBully

Yesterday I got cyberbullied by a local vet and his fan club. I have to say, I was very disappointed in his conduct and the conduct of his followers.

When we first got Bae, he was great. Then, little by little, he started having some problems with diarrhea. As it got progressively worse, we became worried. Our normal vet was pretty booked up, so we went to a vet in town, one that we had visited briefly to get a puppy physical and fulfill our breeder contract. He seemed nice, so we thought, why not?

He saw us relatively quickly, and told us he was concerned about a number of things. He then said he was going to perform several tests to see if our puppy had a viral infection, bacterial infection, or a parisite. Before I could ask the price, he left the room with Bae. I just hoped it wouldn't be too much. I also wasn't keen on him testing for a virus Bae had been vaccinated for, especially when he has absolutely no contact with other dogs. Oh well.We spent the next 45 minutes waiting for them to try and get a poop sample (meaning they were walking him around back) and then they said, bring one back later for us to "send out".

I won't give you the exact bill, but it was more expensive than I had anticipated. And he put Bae on a medication, that actually, didn't help the diarrhea at all. I also had to return with a vile of poop later that day.

All the results came back negative. Every one. And we were encouraged to keep him on the medication for a condition he didn't have, just in case. Which we did. When I did a bit of my own research, and discovered some puppies need a pro biotic because of a normal flora shift in their intestines, I called the same vet to ask which brand he recommended. The nurse wouldn't answer my question, she recommended another visit. To which I said, he had just been seen, I just wanted to try this over the counter. Then the vet came on the line. He said it was a serious problem if Bae was still having diarrhea. He said I should come back in. I said, what will you do? You already tested him for all of these things and it was negative. He said the next step was an intestinal biopsy and blood cultures. I said I didn't think that was necessary. That I wanted to try the pro biotic. I said the breeder didn't mention anything like IBS or pancreatic problems in her dogs, and he said, well of course she wouldn't! She's the breeder! I said, I don't think she has any motivation to lie to me, I've already given her my money. You on the other hand......

Bae continued to get worse. He stopped being as playful, he was having bowl movements several times a day, even in the house. The poor thing, I finally called our local vet. I told them what was up, what the other guy had done, and how nothing was improving. They said it was pretty ridiculous that he would jump straight to surgery after a negative giardia test.

So we had an appointment. The vet collected a stool sample with a probe, something the other guy did not I would assume. He performed the pathology with me watching. He said surgery was not the next step. The next step was broad spectrum deworming for a week. Then after that, a dietary change. Then after that, a blood work up. I said okay, let's do the deworming. He sent us home with two different medications, and by the next morning, Bae was himself and his poop was solid. I was very angry at the other vet.

Upon seeing a thread on a community facebook page asking where to go for affordable veteranary services, I thought I would respond. The post before mine said to go to the first vet's office, with a ton of praise. I responded, "Don't go there, in my experience they aren't that great and ended up charging us a lot for procedures that turned out to be unnecessary. The vet where I live is fair and honest, and he had our puppy feeling better immediately. And his prices beat anyone in town".

To my surprise, the actual vet responded to me. He called me a liar, spreading slanderous lies over the internet about him. And that he would defend his practice. He said all the tests he performed were justified and he gives away thousands of dollars in medication and services. Then a bunch of his "fans" joined in, saying I was a coward, and it's easy to trash talk someone when I have no fear of repercussion, and that he is the best vet in the world, and they will never go to anyone else, and that I'm a hurtful liar. I said "People calm down! I'm not lying or being slanderous, I was stating my opinion of a bad interaction. He didn't disclose the price before hand, and didn't allow me to say I didn't want the viral testing done. He became rude and short with me when I said I didn't want the surgery, and accused my breeder of lying to me. I wrote him a bad review, it happens."

The vet continued to harrass me about my negative review, and his followers as well until a moderator told them to calm down or get removed. I wrote him a personal message explaining that his conduct in seeking me out was unacceptable.

"I am incredibly embarrassed that you attacked me the way you did. I was merely sharing my experience, and it was not a good one. I am upset that you were not up front about the cost, and I am even more upset that what you prescribed didn't help my puppy. I am upset that you say you offer discounted and free services, but failed to mention that to us, even when I said we were students and couldn't afford much. And I can't believe your level of unprofessionalism for coming after me in a FACEBOOK thread. What I said was not slanderous, nor was is libelous (because that's the one that's in print.....). I said nothing of the sort. I am just so shocked by your behavior. You sir, you have some issues. If you have so many loyal followers and such a fabulous practice, why should one little woman that says she had a bad experience unhinge you so dramatically? SO WHAT? You didn't tell me how much it was going to be, and I was so embarrassed I didn't have the money with me, I had to call back and pay later! And my puppy is doing better being treated by someone else. Who didn't charge me a ton and told me how much it was going to be before the tests we performed, and those tests were performed while I watched. You failed in your interaction with me. It's not the end of the world. Just learn from it, move on, and hopefully it doesn't happen in the future."

Needless to say, I will never go to him again. We picked him because he had all 5 star reviews on every page we visited. Now I know why. He can't take a negative one. He probably bullied anyone who had the audacity to write him a bad review. That is ridiculous. Everyone gets a bad review, no one is perect. And all the good reviews shouldn't take away from someone's bad experience. I'm even more upset to learn he offers free and discounted services. He didn't tell us that. The man is a teenage girl that will come at you with teeth and claws if you so much as say you had a bad experience at his clinic. Holy cow, what a headcase!