Small Animal Clinic - OVC HSC

You may have heard wonderful things about OVC ICU small animal hospital in Guelph but I have different story to tell. Story that is hard to believe, story that does not happen at the state of the art facility used by referring veterinarians across the province for treatment and care not readily available in general veterinary practice. Well, it happened to me – the most horrific nightmare and experience imaginable happened to us at OVC small animal hospital and I feel that people need to hear me out in hopes they reconsider entrusting lives of their pets in to hands of OVC. I certainly would never trust them again. To sum up here and also reported for investigation to their regulatory body, here is our heartbreaking story; story which in human health would be considered malpractice in every sense of the word: - OVC veterinarian that took care of my little girl failed to follow mandated standards of care in respect to documentation of administered medications. During review of medical records after my little girl’s death it has come to my attention that it is not clear if IV Lasix was administered (drug that I requested in final attempt to save her since IM Lasix was ineffective). No time, no route, no frequency was recorded which reflects failure to follow standards of care. There was no possibility for misunderstanding of my request. Several people heard me. - Further, corrections were made to the chart (initially reported 2 doses of IM Lasix were corrected to 4 doses of IM Lasix) upon my request to review her medical records. Charts should not be corrected when family requests to see them! If there was discrepancy, this should have been caught by the end of the shift since we are not discussing here minimal things such as bad hair cut. It is life saving drugs that were not properly recorded yet I was told they were administered. We will never know as there is no proof of administration nor route or time of administration. - Repeatedly I had to keep asking for numbers and results of the tests they were doing as I am familiar with them. No one took me seriously as understanding this information my self and wanting to be informed. They failed to inform me accurately which resulted in euthanasia since I thought there was nothing more that could save her. - There was significant 3 week delay in providing me with medical records after initial request for records was made and error in number of IM doses noted. Since 3 weeks passed before I could obtain medical records and with failure to document IV Lasix, any reports now are speculations and in favor of what I want to hear. However, there is no proof that IV was administered as I had requested as last bit of hope in saving her life or at least stabilizing her. - To word it politely, the head of OVC ICU showed no interest in providing me with answers in timely manner after this error was discovered (which provided more time for things to be forgotten). - They further made a mistake in reporting she arrived with IV from referring veterinarian. This is not accurate as I have numerous times asked for IV to be started in Guelph. - It’s been 4 months and I still have no answers. I will never have the answers if the IV Lasix was truly administered – my wish to try everything possible to save her prior to opting for humane euthanasia was taken away due to negligence of veterinarian to document administered medications. - No apology for the grief of never knowing if she could have been saved with IV Lasix, no explanation as to why they failed to adhere to the standards of care has been received. I will take all the proper steps in ensuring this does not happen to your loving pet. Those that don't love what they do should not work in this profession. These little guys can not speak for them selves so it is our duty to ensure they get best care possible. I was in the position to provide this to my little girl and OVC failed her. Stay with your local vet and local emergency clinics (amazing care) without hoping to receive better care at OVC.
7 years ago (08-05-2018)

Dedicated Drs. And medical students a very positive experience.
7 years ago (27-04-2018)

Hopefully you don't ever have to bring a pet here, but if you do, know that you're in good hands.
7 years ago (01-12-2017)

I can't thank OVC Small Animal Clinic & Cancer Centre enough for saving our English Bulldog. He was diagnosed with myxosarcoma in the front left forelimb and required amputation. Tanya did an amazing job with the surgery and the incision healed beautifully. Our dog also experienced uncontrolled pain episodes pre and post operation. The Surgical and Oncology team took every step necessary to resolve the pain and ensure a good quality of life. Special thanks to everyone at the hospital that helped care for our furbaby. He is now at home enjoying the tripawd life!
7 years ago (26-10-2017)

My dog has extremely odd noises coming from her belly and refused to eat or drink. Fearing the worst, at 10:00 pm I frantically looked for some kind of emergency room. They answered the phone immediately, took her in immediately and did xrays and blood work immediately. They were extremely friendly and helpful in every way, and my little girl is happy and healthy.
8 years ago (15-06-2017)