Atherton Veterinary Clinic

.

unknown

unknown

The staff member I spoke with was very friendly, helpful and knowledgable!

.

Upon thorough review of the investigative information obtained relative to this matter,the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners Probable Cause Conferees make the following findings of fact:

KSA 47and shy;830 (o) (4) unprofessional conduct for violation of any provision of the Veterinary Practice Act, specifically KAR 70and shy;8and shy;1(b) demonstrating a willful or careless disregard for the health, welfare or safety of a patient

KSA 47and shy;830 (o) (4) unprofessional conduct for violation of any provision of the Veterinary Practice Act, specifically KAR 70and shy;7and shy;1(h) Patient records, and (i) Medication records, and controlled drugs

It is with so much grief and sadness that I am writing this in hopes of saving someone else the heartache and loss that I am experiencing.
I took a farm cat that I had adopted to Dr. Atherton to be spayed. When I made the appointment, I explained that she had gone into heat and may be pregnant. The woman on the phone said and quot;oh sure, it's no big deal it may just be a little more expensiveand quot;. I followed the pre op instructions and took her in the morning of her appt. They did not have me fill out any paperwork on her whatsoever. I received a phone call from Dr. Atherton later that afternoon telling me that she is not coming out of anesthesia and that maybe if I came my voice could help her out of it. When I asked him if she was going to die, he raised his voice and said loudly and quot;no she isn't going to dieand quot;. When I arrived at his office the girl at the desk was very cold and put me in a room. He came in a said, and quot;I'm sorry she just passedand quot;. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I reached out to another vet office and told them what had happened. This is their response:
and quot;Wow, that makes me really angry at that vet. Spaying IS a big deal. It is a MAJOR operation. Our vet clinic doesn't do any surgeries without blood work to test liver/kidney functions and to test for infection and clotting issues. We also do a catheter in case of an emergency we have direct access to the vet to administer drugs. Spaying in heat is a lot more risky as everything is enlarged and inflamed and there is more bleeding. I am so very sorry for the loss of your kitty.
This doctor also admitted on the phone to me that when he saw her he knew NOTHING about her except that she was in heat and may or may not be pregnant. WHY WOULD HE PERFORM SURGERY ON HER THEN????
I was misinformed and misguided and an innocent animal has lost her life. I will never forgive myself for trusting a horrible, horrible person as this with a pet that I loved so dearly.

When we got to the business there was no waiting Dr met us in the waiting room. His exam was quick and efficient. He was very gentle with my dog. He prescribed oral antibiotics for dog's skin reaction. He also prescribed heart worm medication.

We have always had wonderful treatment at Athertons. Our dog is a very large dog with high anxiety but he is always treated well when he is there. Dr. Atherton is very quick to explain things and always very polite.

It went well...dr was quick and nice. Was great with my pet and patient with my over talkative children.

I have an almost 8 year old pomeranian. I have gone to this vet clinic for a number of years, since she was a puppy. Previous visits were annual check up's and vaccinations. All had gone well with no issues at all. She had never been boarded or been at the clinic without me being present. At her last check up the vet had said that it would be a good idea to have her teeth cleaned. I inquired about the price and procedure. The procedure was poorly explained to me but I was informed that my dog would have to be put under anesthesia for the teeth cleaning and that she would have to stay overnight. The possibility of having to pull teeth or any other complications were not discussed with me. In hindsight I should have asked but at the time I felt as though I was receiving all the information I needed. I gave it some thought and then decided it would be best for my pet to go ahead with the teeth cleaning if her teeth put her health at risk. I called to schedule the appointment. The price was discussed, which I felt was reasonable but again no one had discussed the possibility of teeth pulling and/or further charges. I was told that I would be able to pick her up at 3 pm that same day. Contrary to what the vet had told me at the check up visit. I had plans to leave town the day of and return the next day so I had figured it would be a good time to have it done. So instead I asked about boarding my dog and then picking her up when I arrived back into town the next day. They said that would be fine and that I would have to have her picked up by 12 pm the next day, which was a Saturday. The other option was 5 pm on Sunday. I decided that I would either be there to pick her up or I would have someone else there by 12 pm on Saturday to pick her up. The hours of when you were able to pick up your pet bothered me. Was no one there to take care of the pets after 12 pm on Saturday to 5 pm on Sunday? Long time for a pet to go with no care. I made arrangements with someone to pick up my dog at the vet clinic by 12 pm because I wasn't for sure when I would be back in town on Saturday. The day of the cleaning I went ahead and paid for the procedure and boarding so that the person who was picking up my dog could pick her up and leave. I ask the assistant at the desk if they could give me a call once the procedure was over and let me know how it went. She said that they would. I gave my dog her favorite blanket, some food that I had for her stay and said goodbye. I always worry about my pet and this situation was no different. Around 2 or 3 pm the same day I had not received a call from the vet clinic. So I decided that I would call them to ask how my dog was doing. The person who answered the phone did not give me her name and was very rude to me. I asked about how the procedure went and she put me on hold to go find out. Once back on the phone she said everything went and quot;fineand quot;. When asking more, I just got short answers back and in a tone that seemed as though I was being a bother because I had called to ask about my dog, whom I was worried about. I was NOT told that my dog had to have a tooth pulled, how the actual procedure went or how well she was coming out of anesthesia during this conversation.There was nothing professional or caring about how she talked to me on the phone. I was left to wonder how my dog was being treated if they treated their customers like that over the phone. The next day I received a call from the person who was picking my dog up from the vet. She stated that they were very rude to her and wanted to know when I was going to pay for the teeth cleaning and boarding costs. I told my friend that I had already paid and I have my receipt at home. During this conversation with my friend was the first time I had learned that my dog had to have a tooth pulled. This upset me because I was never told that a tooth would be pulled during the check up visit when the tooth cleaning had first been discussed, not when I called to schedule the appointment, not when I dropped off my dog and paid for the procedure, nor when I had called to ask about how it went. I immeadiately called the vet clinic to ask why hadn't I been told about the tooth being pulled, how rudely I was treated during my phone call the day before and how rudely my friend had been treated when she picked up my dog. Whoever I had talked to on the phone this time was apologizing but the damage had been done. I told her that I would likely not come back mainly because of their non caring attitude, she said she would let the vet know of my complaints. Once I got home from out of town I picked up my dog from my friend. When I asked about the blanket and food that I had left for my dog, my friend stated that they didn't give anything to her. Also, being the long haired pomeranian that she is, the food that I give her should be the only food that she should eat because other foods give her diarrhea. Well she had feces on her bottom area that had not been cleaned off from obviously diarrhea that had been left on and dried. My friend stated that she had noticied it when she picked her up from the vet. To finish the long story, the next available day I had, I went to the vet clinic got my dogs blanket and food, paid the rest of the bill for having the tooth being pulled and asked for a copy of her records. I will not recommend this vet or will ever go back.

We've done vaccination, neutering, de-clawing (with the ethics of declawing speech), acute care and it's always a positive experience.