Introduction / Summary
Our dog Doge 🐕 and I visited Duke Animal Hospital in August 2022 for the removal of a sebaceous cyst from his upper tail/lower back. Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing and extremely painful. We encountered issues with the quality of care provided, and medicine prescribed among other issues listed below. Communication from the staff was poor, leading to confusion, pain, and frustration.
In my view, Duke prioritizes throughput and profit over the quality of care.
Duke Animal Hospital was too busy to handle their patients, our loved one. They did not prioritize the needs of their customers. I cannot recommend anyone patronize the practice. Mr. Doge is all healed now. He ended up receiving emergency surgery, and excellent medical care from VEG, and he is completely healed. We were told that when he came in they were in fear the tail would need to be amputated due to the infection. We are so grateful for the care he received at VEG.
Duke is a substantial veterinary facility, not your neighborhood vet. With annual revenue exceeding $10 million, boasting a large team, it operates more akin to a large-scale business enterprise, with a lack of personal care.
The experience resulted in taking Duke to court. Ultimately I voluntarily dismissed the court case due to the cost of lawyers being 5x the financial loss we suffered, as well as the continual emotional pain of having to interact with Angela Duke and her lawyers. I still want others to be aware of the issues we had with Duke Animal Hospital, so I decided to spread awareness here.
Angela Duke was cold, formal, and unapologetic. All of our communications through the infection, everyone at Duke Animal Hospital was too busy, short, indifferent, unsympathetic, defensive or even rude. Overall, the staff was not engaged and "just doing their job." Angela Duke was not interested in hearing about the issues we dealt with let alone helping to remedy them. Had Angela Duke shown a morsel of humanity in dealing with us, we would not have taken her to court, and I wouldn't be writing this recap to live on publicly forever.
A Summary of the Issues We Faced
- Post-surgery instructions were insufficient, failing to mention excessive oozing, bleeding, and pain, confining us to the house to care for him 24/7 for over a week.
- Post-operative pain management was inadequate, leading to severe discomfort.
- The response to post-surgery concerns was unsatisfactory, with delayed acknowledgment, slow response to emails of potential complications, and a directive to return at full emergency visit cost for further evaluation.
- The extent of the surgery was not adequately communicated. Despite a small lump, our pet underwent an extensive procedure, resulting in a large incision with 22 sutures along the top of his tail.
- The veterinarian who performed the surgery became unavailable, and there was no plan for any complications. Highlighting a lack of contingency planning, minimal effort of followup care.
- There was a last-minute inquiry about the lump's location before surgery, raising doubts about the thoroughness of prior examinations.
- We were erroneously charged for the initial exam twice, necessitating a refund after we called to rectify the error.
- The office attempted to charge us $320 extra for a previously declined biopsy.
- During the pre-operative phase, the veterinary technician persistently misgendered our dog and used the wrong name, despite correction, indicating a lack of care.
- A poorly fitted cone was provided at an excessive cost, prompting us to purchase a better fitting one elsewhere.
Extended Details
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️
There are graphic images below. Please be aware before scrolling down.
Saturday August 27th, 2022 - Initial examination
We visited Duke Animal Hospital for an initial examination to determine the nature of the cyst. They suggested it was a routine removal, and suggested a teeth cleaning while he was out. We were charged for the initial examination twice and only caught it later. Had to reach out to be refunded.
Tuesday September 13th, 2022 - Day of the surgery
We denied a test/biopsy to determine the type of cyst, and Duke repeatedly tried to charge us $320 for it. We ended up having to provide documentation of a previous quote for reference.
Prior to the surgery, the veterinary technician persistently misgendered our dog and referred to him by the wrong name despite correction, indicating a lack of attentiveness. There was also a last-minute inquiry about the lump's location, raising doubts about the thoroughness of prior examinations and documentation.
We were not told that the surgery would be so extreme. The cyst was about half an inch in diameter. When we picked him up he had a 4 inch incision. We counted 22 sutures. The Veterinarian at VEG that performed the emergency surgery said it was very unusual, and alluded to inexperience.
When we picked him up we were told that the surgery went normally, and not to let him lick it. We were provided a cone for $30, and they said the only followup will be a checkin in 2 weeks. Not a significant issue, but the cone they sold us was way too big, and clearly used. So we had to call a number of other vets to find one that fit better.
Wednesday September 14th, 2022
The post-operative pain medication provided was inadequate, and our pet was suffering severely. Carprofen, often likened to the canine version of Ibuprofen, seemed insufficient given the extent of his discomfort from the surgical procedure. Enduring hours of whimpering and crying, we insisted on a stronger alternative to which they did end up offering Gabapentin.
For comparison, the emergency veterinarian (at the VEG veterinary hospital) that we ultimately sought assistance from prescribed Doge 30mg Codeine to alleviate the immense pain. This was unfortunately after 5 days of suffering.
Thursday September 15th, 2022
When we became worried that the tail was infected, we never received a prompt email response. We were lucky if they got back to us that day. More importantly we sent pictures as we grew more and more concerned. This photo was sent September 15th, 2 days after the surgery. This was their response:
“I spoke with Dr. Alore she looked at the photo and mentioned as long as the tail is not cold to the touch and Doge is doing fine otherwise, Russ could keep an eye on him and if anything changes to give us a call back to schedule an appointment.”
Friday September 16th, 2022 - Three days post-surgery
The tail infection had worsened to the point where its odor was unmistakable. We contacted Duke to bring him in for urgent care. The doctor that performed the surgery Dr. Alore, was not available until Monday. We managed to schedule an appointment for Monday with Dr. Alore, while also exploring options at other animal hospitals. It was disheartening to consider returning to Duke. Given the inability to see our designated doctor, the prospect of being charged full price for an emergency visit, and all of the issues we'd already faced. Not to mention the continuing feeling that they didn't care about us or our dog. Duke offered us a different antibiotic (Enrofloxacin) based on our confidence of an infection and we could pick it up in the morning.
Saturday September 17th, 2022
We decided that Doge couldn't wait until Monday morning, and we needed someone to look at his tail immediately. He was clearly in severe pain. So without an appointment, we brought Doge with us to pick up the new antibiotic and insist someone look at the infected wound in order to confirm that it didn't need immediate attention. In Dr. Alore's absence, Doge was seen by Dr. Sadler who took him in the back for a few minutes. Dr. Sadler came out and explained to us that he could either perform surgery by opening the wound and cleaning it, or we could wait until Monday September 19th, to see if the new antibiotics would improve his condition. We said we are not doctors, and we cannot make a decision like this. We asked him to tell us his professional opinion, and he said he thought it could wait until Monday.
Days later, after we'd parted ways with Duke but before we were locked out, the patient web portal incorrectly stated that Dr. Sadler advised us that he recommended immediate surgery.
Sunday September 18th, 2022
We didn't see any improvement in the wound the next day. We decided around 3pm to take him to the emergency animal hospital VEG. Upon arriving he was examined and they scheduled him to be sedated in a couple hours for emergency surgery. They prioritized his care and were very attentive. They were very concerned and said the wound had not healed at all. And that he had been suffering severly since the surgery.
They told us that he could have sepsis and there was a significant chance he would lose his tail that day.
We were allowed to watch the surgery, and were explained all of the details. It was refreshing to feel like they cared about our dog. The surgery was a success. He had some dysphoria from the sedation when he woke up, but he was back to normal within a few minutes. He was prescribed antibiotics, and pain medication and we were given specific instructions around bringing him back every day for the next 5 days for redressings.
Tuesday September 20th, 2022 - A Phonecall with Duke
During his healing we arranged a phone call with Dr. Angela Duke to express our concerns with the surgery, and his aftercare at Duke Animal Hospital.
We were immediately talked down to and argued with. She showed us her objective during the conversation was to mitigate risk and identify if we were going to pursue legal action. We were still caring for our dog, and we were unsure what actions we were going to take at that point. She then attempted to make us “get to whatever we were trying to get at” which she incorrectly believed to be reimbursement. We were immediately locked out of the web portal.
Dr. Angela Duke has made it clear that her only interest is in defending her hospital's financial efficiencies.
Final
It's been 1.5 years now and although they blamed the complication on his age, he is healthy and happy. He managed healing with the wound open extremely well after the care at VEG. If you made it this far thank you for reading. I hope this helps you make an informed decision about where to take your pet, and what you should expect from your vet.