Last Friday was one of the most stressful days I have had as of late. And I guess it was the whole month prior building up to that day… when we got Chloe she had a healing case of demodex mange, something that is not supposed to be a huge deal. We were supposed to follow up with the vet the following week when we took her to get spayed and microchipped. The woman (let’s call her “Mindy”) we got Chloe from was going to schedule Chloe’s appointment through the Rescue for insurance purposes. We told her when we were free and then waited for her to contact us with the appointment information.

I didn’t hear from from Mindy that next week, so I emailed her and asked her when the appointment was, saying that Chloe’s skin was really flaring up. By this point, Chloe’s underside was very bumpy and very red. Clearly, her infection had not been taken care of by the antibiotics or there was something else wrong with her. She emailed me back and asked if I wanted to go to a different vet in Crystal Lake. No… I wanted to go to the one here in Rockford that we already agreed on. Then she asked what my schedule was like. I gave her my schedule. She responded the same day that she would call the vet.

Two days later, she emailed me and asked me to take Chloe in for her skin right away, and that her spay appointment would be the following week. I emailed her back and said I wanted to take care of both issues at the same appointment. It was already a Friday, waiting until the next week seemed manageable. I was spraying down Chloe’s belly with a calming spray and it seemed to help a little.

A whole week later, she emailed me again and said she had an appointment for Chloe for the following Tuesday, but she didn’t give me a time. I emailed her back and asked what time the appointment was supposed to be. No response.

The following Monday I emailed her and asked what time the appointment was the next day. She emailed me back right away and said the Vet had called her to reschedule because they were overbooked, could I go on Thursday. I repeated that Thursday was the only day I could not go. She responded, “Ok let me call and see if they can do Wednesday or Friday.”

Three days later I emailed her again, “Were you able to get the appointment for tomorrow?”  She responded, “They could not get her in so I made it for next week so u just need to drop her in the morning and she should be able to be picked up by 4.” I asked, “Ok, what day next week and what time should I drop her off?” She never responded.

The next morning, which was this past Friday, Chloe’s skin was worse than ever! By this point we had tried a few different shampoos and a special cream, but nothing was working. She had horrible, bumpy red skin and she was clearly distressed. It was beginning to affect her temperament.  She could not stop itching and biting herself, she had open sores in some areas. In tears, I called the vet to see if they had gotten a call from “Mindy.”

What they told me angered me… they are a walk-in clinic. They do not make appointments. The only time they make appointments is for major surgeries and that does not include spaying or implanting the microchip. They had not heard from or made an appointment with Mindy. My poor puppy had been suffering that whole time needlessly while Mindy continued to lie to me! She never called the vet, or she would have known and told me to go in whenever it was convenient for me. I would have been at the Vet’s office that first week we had her and she would never have gotten so bad. It was a whole month from the time that we got her to the time that I finally got Chloe into the Vet. I feel so dumb for having believed this woman when she told me she had to make the appointment and that they were always “overbooked.”

As soon as I got off the phone with the Vet’s office, I packed up Chloe, all of her stuff, and Micah, and we drove straight there. The visit itself was extremely stressful for me. Trying to keep a toddler occupied and a puppy from mowing down the whole place was difficult to say the least. Micah dumped his snacks all over the waiting room, threw a tantrum in the exam room, and Chloe would not sit still for the world. Then “Mindy” was trying to make excuses on the phone when the receptionist called her about payment. I was so over it! She wanted to talk to me, and I obliged for a minute, but then I cut it off. She was still trying to tell me that Chloe needed an appointment because she was a rescue, when I had already been told otherwise. She emailed me later that day and asked me to call her but I have not. I am too upset with her. I will deal with the Vet’s office and they can deal with her. I do not trust anything she says.

When I finally left the Vet’s office, Micah was starving and tired, and I was sobbing on the phone to Eric. I had a bunch of medications and supplements to give Chloe. I had instructions to call an in-home trainer for Chloe. I was so overwhelmed and still angry about getting the run-around from Mindy. To make things worse, I had just started my estrogen therapy and it was making me extra emotional. I cried, “I just need a hug,” and yet I knew it was going to be another 5 hours before Eric got home.

After several days on antibiotics and supplements, along with one round of Promeris, Chloe is already showing dramatic improvement. I still feel guilty that I did not get suspicious earlier and take things into my own hands weeks ago, but there is nothing I can do to change that now. I cannot wait for Chloe to be completely healed so I can forget about this whole ordeal!!