My head is going to explode (More Banfield issues)

[stina3246]

So real quick, my dog Dash was diagnosed with heartworm. (There's a whole back story about this and the horrible service from Banfield that I won't go into)
Basically Banfield gave me 3 options. Pay $1500 dollars for heartworm treatment, give him Heartguard and hope for the best or just let him die! I turned down all the options so I could get a second opinion. The vet (who was MUCH better then the first vet who refused to even test my dog) gave me a perscription just incase I changed my mind or wanted to get Heart Guard somewhere else.
Well, I called several vets including the ASPCA and local humane society and found out that the average cost of heartworm treatment was about $400-600 depending on hospital stay, vet etc. Well, that's at least doable if I can save or get care credit. One of the vets offices (The one I liked the best) told me that while I saved up I can still put him on heartguard with out issues just to keep it from getting worse. I returned to Banfield just to get the Heartguard and the "BAD" vet was there. He refused to give me the medication even though I had the perscription from THAT office and all the info was in Dashes file!! He told me I'd have to return when the other vet was there. She won't be in for a week. He is the normal vet and she's only there on his days off. I am definitely calling the customer service department to complain AGAIN. not that they'll do anything. This is by far the worst treatment I've ever had from ANYWHERE EVER!!

[fairlight]

If you have another Banfield that is close to you take the script there. Or you can go to petmeds.com and fax the script in and probably pay less. I have very few nice things to say about Banfield. I have one month to go on one of my dogs and I will not renew. By that time all 4 of my dogs will be out of there.

[weezyNollie]

I wouldn't recommend petmeds. None of the pharmaceutical companies back any products sold by pet meds. They get all their products by third party. Which means, if you dog has ANY complications by being put on Heartgard while having heartworm disease (which I will get to in a minute) -- Heartgard company will not help or take any responsibility.

At any rate.. has anyone also explained the potential complications of giving a heartworm positive dog heartworm preventative? There is a reason why we usually test before putting on prevention. In cases that are bad, it can be fatal.

Do you know how the Heartworm was diagnosed? Has the test been redone? Have they drawn blood and done a microfilaria test (buffy coat?)? Have they done chest radiographs to see what the heart looks like?

I think.. you should look into care credit ASAP and get some of these answers and then pursue treatment. Depending on what you find. This could have been a false positive, it could be a minor case or it could be a serious case.

If you have animal hospitals in the area that will accept Care Credit, that's the way to go.

[stina3246]

They did a blood test but nothing else. I wondered about the posability of a false positive. The vet that told me to go ahead and put him on it in the mean time told me they'd do all those other tests before treatment. I'll check into Care Credit but my credit is pretty bad. (Long story) my husbands is better. They are GE Money Bank and he has 2 GE accounts. One is up to date the other is behind a little bit.
I was just going to wait until the other vet came in tomorrow to get the meds. I could get them through Valley Vet or Country Suppy (I trust both of those companies) but I didn't want to wait on shipping.

Nope, I just applied for Care Credit and I don't qualify.
I'll have my husband try when he gets home but if he doesn't I don't know what to do. I'm going to have to try to save up but I hope the damage isn't beyond repair by then.

[Dobified]

That Vet sounds like a quack... you can not put a dog on Heartgard once they have heartworms. Not just that why is up with her attitude ? Definately report her to your local Government agency that over see Vet's.

You can not treat heartworms yourself a Vet must adminster the treatment as it is a very serious treatment and your dogs life can be at risk.

DO NOT put your dog on heartgard unless you KNOW he is free of heartworms, go to another vet and get the tests redone. Heartgard is only for prevention not curing.