Harry needs a helping hand

The four-month-old wire haired terrier mix requires some high-priced surgery, and the Antigo Veterinary Clinic is putting out a call for donations.

“Harry has two severely broken front legs and needs to see a special surgeon in Appleton to install plates to help his bones heal properly,” Derek Goplin, client care coordinator, explained. “Our doctors have done what they can do. He’s been in our care for a month and we’ve seen no bone growth. The only way to get him healed is to get those plates put in.”

A typically rambunctious puppy, Harry came to the clinic after a fall left him with one broken leg. He was treated and returned home, but then a second puppy mishap left the other leg broken, and the owners unable to foot the mounting financial costs.

Full story: Antigo Daily Journal

Comments

What's going on at that vet clinic? All new faces working there, and a new clinic is opening, can this town handle more than one vet?

that vet is a damn sneaky robbing trap! took my cat in cause there was a coupon in the paper for a free checkup. apparently all that covers is the fee they would have charged you for walking in the door cause they immediately started trying to do things to charge me, eg; taking ear swabs to send to a lab for testing, giving him shots and and things...I had to stop them and ask before anything they were doing because they weren't telling me before hand if what they were about to do was going to cost money...I ended up paying for two unwanted and unneeded swab tests and one shot he didnt need either and then they tell me "If you get ten ppl to bring in their pets we'll give you free vet services for three months..." yeah, whatever buddy.

Yeah, nothing there is free, that's for sure! I left feeling guilty because I couldn't do the stuff she wanted me to do, felt like I was a bad owner. I stopped in last week to get my records, place looked dirty, didn't recognize any one working there, guess her staff felt the same as we do!

They did the same kind of crap when we took our dog there. We only went there because they were the only vet around that would take a new Pt as an emergency. Ridiculous. They ran so many unnecessary tests on him and ran our bill up so high, we had to borrow money from my parents to get our dog "bailed" out of there! That and Sarah was hitting on my husband too.... Sleeze......

Good examples of social media bullying. Sounds to me like some unhappy past employees and perhaps their friends putting in their two cents of trash. I was there this week and it certainly does not stink nor is it dirty. Shame on all you people. Obviously something was wrong with your dog to have to make an emergency appointment, how can a vet find out what is wrong with an animal without tests? Just saying.

Ummm I'm sorry scamp but no i have never worked there nore do i know anyone who works there or anyone who used to work there. There are so many people with the same exact story, so what in the world makes you think that all of us are making it up? I think that maybe you're the one with friends working in the clinic and maybe next time you wanna try and call someone out for making things up, use your real name coward.

Shame on you for not realising that cleaning the place up was certainly not too much to ask and it also wasn't the biggest problem any of these people have had at that place. You're making yourself look unintelligent by blindly ignoring multiple claims from multiple people without even giving a moment of forethought.

Can't wait to see what's going to happen when the new clinic opens...

Stopped in to get my records, didn't recognize anyone, place smells and looks dirty, no one even asked why I wanted my pet records. What happened to that place?

My daughter is a caring and outstanding veterinarian. There have been multiple challenges for her practicing in an area which may not share her approach to veterinary medicine. I find it hard to believe the comment about her clinic not being clean. She is a very conscientious professional and I personally find the remark about her flirting with someone's spouse/partner unbelievable and offensive. She is a very friendly person and wouldn't be very good maintaining client relationships if she wasn't friendly. For those of you who say that you were made to feel guilty about refusing to have recommended tests, I can only say, don't. It's your choice. No pressure. It is a veterinarian's or physician's responsibility to provide recommendations and choices. If they don't they are not performing their job to the best of their ability. As far as a second veterinary clinic in town, Antigo has a population of 8004. I live close to a small town with a population of 7745 and there are three veterinary clinics on the same main drag, all flourishing. As far as the change over in staff, well, those were her business decisions and I must respect that. Finally, if you haven't ever tried owning and running your own business, especially in an environment that isn't very accepting of your philosophies, I ask that you "stop throwing stones." Being a small business owner is very challenging, especially in a small community where "everyone seems to know everyone." You don't have to give her your business if you don't want but making disparaging comments about her or her business is hardly civil. As they say, "if you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything." If someone asks you for a recommendation to her clinic, be factual about it...and don't let your anger get the best or your tongue!

I have read and listened to positive and negative comments regarding Antigo Veterinary Clinic since the new owner took over. Change is inevitable. Choices are good. People will have another choice when the new clinic opens. People who agree with the Antigo Veterinary Clinic's practice of accepted AVMA latest standards that provide for complete, thorough care, with choices, will stay. Those who don't understand or accept those standards will leave and go to the new clinic.
It is challenging to operate a small business anywhere, let alone in a small town where the owner is not a native and "everyone knows everyone" and "bad news or remarks" travel faster than positive ones.
Staff changes are not always desirable but if "something isn't working" an owner has to do something to change things. This doesn't mean that the previous employees were bad people or workers. It may just mean that their philosophies were not "in tune" with the owner.
I know of a small town with a population of about 500 less than Antigo that has 3 flourishing veterinary clinics on the main drag. All are progressive clinics adhering to the latest AVMA standards. One even offers acupuncture.
As for feeling guilty if you can't afford care that is recommended by a veterinarian or for that matter a physician, not everyone has the financial means to afford the care. If the care is essential, I'm sure any veterinarian or physician would assist someone in finding a solution. I know what it is like to have that guilty feeling when it comes to making a decision about expensive pet care. A person I know of took out a second mortgage on their home to pay for cancer treatment for their pet. I personally cannot afford to do that. It might make me feel guilty for a moment but then the reality of the situation would set in.
I have had many pets over 30 years and have learned that being a pet parent is not just about the companionship but being able to afford the cost of companionship. If you want to provide even minimal care for them, it is not cheap. Here is a link to the Consumer Reports website citing the average expense and then what pet insurance can provide. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2010/09/is-pet-insurance-worth-the-co...
Finally, I think everyone would agree that it would be really preferable if a person has a "beef" with Antigo Veterinary Clinic, a person should go in and have a chat with the owner and refrain from "throwing stones" either through gossip or blogging. That's the way reasonable people work things out.
p.s. Nothing is free anywhere. Businesses couldn't survive if they gave away their services for free. You don’t get a vehicle for free or gas or maintenance. You don’t get your groceries for free, nor your cell phone, your haircuts; nor does your local bar give you your food or drinks for free. That’s reality!

This is an open letter to " Sanity" regarding his/her comments..
I debated whether or not to post anything. Too much negativity has already been said and I did not want to add to it. However "sanity", since you addressed the issue of the staff, I felt it a reply was justified.
Unless you were present at staff and management meetings it was unfair to make such a blanket statement regarding the staff departures. I cannot speak for the rest of the staff, but management is aware of the reasons I left and they are not the reasons you listed. So speak well of the current and former staff. We work hard and deserve to be treated with respect.
For 5 years I was proud of the work that we did. I got to work with good friends and was able to cultivate new friendships with the people in Antigo. It was an honor to work with you and be part of your pet's lives. I will take responsibility for my words and have no problem using my real name. " Have Courage in Your Convictions!" Jennifer

Well said Jenn!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and forums such as this are a place to share those, whether others agree or not. From what I've read, all who have posted have shared their first hand experiences with the clinic. While the cleanliness of the clinic is something that could be argued the complete change of staff can not. I can tell on my visits to the clinic that there has been full turn over since summer and frankly that says a lot about a business, including one that has been around now under the current ownership for more than 5 years, the growing bumps should no longer be an issue, complete change in staff is a red flag to me as a pet owner looking for a clinic for sure. There will be another choice in town soon and it will be interesting to see how things play out and whether or not our small town can handle two clinics, especially if they are both as different as people are saying. But then again choices are good and this way all residents of our community can find a clinic style they like and keep their money local, so maybe it'll be a win-win.

All she really needed to do was come in and do what Dennis and the crew did for so many successful years. Small changes here and there are fine, but shaming customers into un-needed tests and ultimately over treatment were over the top for us.

My wife an I were also made to feel like slugs for not "gold plating" our dogs' treatment to a standard most likely better than ours. The final red flags for us, was when the three excellent doctors that worked with Dennis left because of differing opinions. We're not talking one out of the three, but all of them! Hmmm. Strange.

I do feel for here and the troubles she will face, but it's like they say. $h!t in your own bed and you'll have to sleep in it... and have to face the stink of it.

I found a kitten with a broken leg at Menards. It was a Saturday and the humane society was closed. The kitten looked like it was throwen out of a car. I called the vet clinic and with the call service they called Dr. Sara and she called me back. She said I would have to pay for it that she would not take it. Now she wants to save this dog????? I ended up taking it over night and having it suffer till Monday. Another incident with the greedy Dr. Sarah my cat that I purchased at the humane society after the kitten incident had diarrhea bad! She wanted all these "tests" done. I did do one test that costed me $300. Test was normal. Then she gave me a lists of tests they would do and the prices. I told her I couldn't afford the tests. She told me "if you cant afford it you shouldn't have a pet." I took her to the Birnamwood vet and no tests needed all that needed to be done was to switch her food to this day 2 yrs ago she is fine. My parents took their pets there for years. I also use to take my pets there. No wonder alot of vets and other coworkers quit. She is very greedy. This Help Harry is a scam to make her nasty self look good. She is frowned upon by many vets.

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