Coco December 25th, 1993-September 8th, 2006 Our Terrible Experience This is lengthy, but please read on. It may keep you and your loved ones (pets and people) from enduring the horror that our family did. Coco became ill in early September 2006. Our "fat cat" stopped eating and we knew there was something terribly wrong. Our vet diagnosed her with hepatic lipidosis, but told us this could be secondary to another serious condition. He stabilized her and suggested we contact an internal medicine specialist. He gave us a couple of choices and we chose Miami Veterinary Specialists (MVS) -- bad choice. I picked up Coco from my vet and took her to MVS on September 7th. I met with Dr. Allison Cannon, an internal medicine specialist. Dr. Cannon confirmed the hepatic lipidosis diagnosis, but also indicated that further tests should be performed to ascertain the origin of the condition. She further indicated that Coco should be admitted for the testing. I agreed. On my way out, I stopped at the front desk and informed them that Coco was being admitted. They indicated that the doctor would call me as soon as she had the results of the ultrasound that would be performed. I left Coco in their care. About 30 minutes after leaving MVS, I received a phone call from office staff telling me that nothing would be done with Coco unless I gave them a deposit. I asked them why this wasn't told to me before I left there as Coco was in very serious condition and in dire need of immediate veterinary care. They really had no explanation. I immediately proceeded to sign a credit card authorization for $1000 and fax it back to them. That afternoon we received a call from Dr. Cannon telling us the ultrasound revealed some kind of obstruction on Coco (she didn't know exactly what or where) and that surgery was suggested to figure out what it was. She explained other alternatives as well, but strongly suggested the surgery, and told us she would call in the morning to hear our decision. Dr. Cannon called on the morning of September 8th, at 9:00am to ask for our decision as to the surgery. I told her to proceed since it was presented to us by her that surgery would be Coco's best chance. She indicated surgery would be performed on Coco promptly that morning and she would call us with updates. We never heard from Dr. Cannon during that day or during the afternoon. I went to MVS that afternoon at 4pm not only to find out about Coco, but also to accompany a friend with a very sick dog who I had referred there for a consultation. We were led into a room. A while after, Dr. Cannon came in to tell me they were just taking Coco into surgery at that time - at 4:30 pm! Needless to say, I was shocked since I was sure her surgery had been performed hours before. They negligently left my extremely ill cat sitting there all day without performing her surgery until the end of the day! I was told the surgery was being performed by a Dr. Alvaro Larin, who I had never met with, nor ever spoken with. During the surgery, Dr. Cannon came out and told me that surgery had revealed an inoperable tumor and that Coco would not survive for too much longer. The decision was made by me to not wake Coco up and let her go, since according to them, she would not recover. Additionally, Dr. Larin requested permission from me through Dr. Cannon, to remove the mass after Coco's death so that they could send it out to pathology for their own information and thus learn more about her condition. I agreed in the hopes that it would help save another cat's life. I would not have requested pathology on the mass being that I chose to have my cat euthanized. Before leaving MVS that day, I checked with the front desk to settle my bill and to ask for a private cremation for Coco. I was advised that I did not owe anything and that I indeed had a credit for $34.49 from my initial $1000 deposit and they credited my credit card for that amount. I was told that we would be called within a couple of weeks to pick up Coco's ashes. Three weeks went by and we did not receive a call from MVS. On Wednesday, October 4th, we received a bill from MVS we had never seen before in the amount of $781.66 dated September 29th (almost a month after Coco's death). We were very confused since I had left there almost a month before with a credit balance. I called them promptly the next day, explained, and asked for a complete itemization of all charges and asked about Coco's ashes. I was told by “Debbie” that an itemization would be sent to me and that they would look into the matter of her ashes and return my call. They did not. I called them again on October 9th, and went through the same thing all over again. I was promised a call back that never came. The next day, October 10th, I decided I would call Pet Heaven (the animal cemetery and crematorium) directly. Pet Heaven advised me that they had never received a request for a private pick up for Coco from MVS, but that they would contact the practice and return my call. Shortly afterwards, I received an extremely rude phone call from someone at MVS telling me that Coco was being held because of an unpaid bill from Dr. Larin and that unless I paid, it would be sent to collections. Needless to say I was shocked to hear about a collection threat on a bill that I had had for less than a week and that I was supposed to receive more information about. Still, at this, I was still thinking they were holding her ashes. Upon talking to them further, it was revealed that they were holding Coco's body in a freezer because of this bill! I was appalled, sickened and distraught. Not only did they never advise me of a subsequent bill from Dr. Larin, but much less that they would hold Coco's body in a freezer until it was paid and additionally hold and illegally use the monies paid by me ($329) for her private cremation. They never even had the courtesy of calling me back with an explanation. The bill for the alleged services was received by me less than a week before! One would think that I could have been advised of that issue way before that time. My husband and I rushed to MVS that very afternoon. My husband had to be put through the agony of viewing Coco's dead, frozen body in order to make sure they did still have her since their explanation was so incomprehensible. MVS tried to tell us that it was all a big mistake and through their employee Robbie McCall, apologized. Mr. McCall offered to speak to Dr. Larin about possibly reducing his bill in an effort to rectify their negligent actions. Dr. Larin replied that he felt his bill was reasonable and that he had already not charged for the pathology of the mass (said pathology was requested by MVS for their learning purposes since I obviously would not be interested in a pathology report after euthanizing my cat). In a nutshell, the bill, which we knew nothing about, was never reduced, it was paid in its entirety and $1724.23 later (Coco was there for little over 24 hours), my cat is dead and I still have the image in my mind of her dead body in a freezer for a month. This is a tragedy this is for us. We got to live Coco's death all over again, and worse. It's sad to know that the veterinary profession puts money before the well being of their innocent patients and the feelings of their families. I might add that Dr. Cannon was present in the waiting room speaking to other clients while we were there trying to resolve this matter. She witnessed our obvious distress. At no point, did she have the courtesy or the empathy to offer an apology on behalf of MVS, and for that matter, neither did Dr. Larin have the presence to come out and meet us personally. There is not much to be said for the professionalism and the humanity of these so-called veterinarians. Yes, they sent us a stock sympathy card postmarked October 12th, 2006 -- more than a month after Coco's death. They must have held that, along with her body until the bill was paid. Obviously the portion of the Veterinarian's Oath that states, "I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.", eludes Dr. Larin and Dr. Cannon. We have filed a complaint against the "doctors" involved with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in the hopes that at least disciplinary measures will be taken against this practice and these individuals. Subsequent to this, we received a call from a person who heard about our story. She related a similar experience with MVS. In her case, her pet was left to die due to improper care. Her pet's ashes were also held due to an alleged unpaid bill. MVS and Dr. Larin are being sued for malpractice in this instance. If you read this because you love your animals as much as we do, feel free to cut and paste the contents of this page and forward it in an e-mail to everyone you know. Don't let this tragedy happen to someone else. Rosy & Lewis Harkow