Avian And Exotic Animal Hospital; Dr. Ferguson; Dr. Maas Failed to treat my sick Sun Conure after multiple visits. Refuses to contact secondary vet, refund money or make any amends. Bothell Washington
This is a link to a BBB complaint I have filed: https://alaskaoregonwesternwashington.app.bbb.org/
complaint/view/22193561/c/5hfnd5
Below you will find the email thread I initiated with the email address on the vet's website. I have been responded to by a different email address and never the owner or manager of the office as requested on multiple occasions.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sherri ****"
To: info@theexoticvet.com
Cc: (((redacted)))
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 7:11:15 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Request For Information
Hello,
My name is Sherri **** and you have treated my Sun Conure, Stuey. I recently had his information transferred over to Dr. Brent Johnson at NW Animal Care Hospital. Upon my last visit at your office, I was told that Stuey had no bacteria, was healthy and to give him BeneBac. He was still sneezing and no reason was given other than possibly the baths he takes. I had explained he would sneeze before baths or even various times on days he had had no bath.
After my multiple visits to your office, he is still sneezing and I recently noticed discharge from his nose area. This is why I transferred his medical records to the other vet. I figured that after three or more visits, I needed a second opinion. I have paid over $120 for more tests and another culture. The doctor has called me back and said Stuey indeed has an infection and is putting him on a three week antibiotic regimen.
I really don't even know what to ask for. My money back for the failed treatment of my bird or the money to continue treat a bird that you failed to make well, which may now cost more than it could have a month or two ago? Either way, I would very much like to be contacted back by the owner or managing entity of your office for a proposed and amicable resolution.
You are welcome to a copy of Stuey's records at NWACH. I am CC'ing myself as I will be documenting my attempt at a resolution in case this needs to be escalated to a small claims court.
Sherri ****
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From: avian51@comcast.net [mailto:avian51@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 9:39 AM
To: Sherri ****
Subject: Re: Request For Information
Dear Ms. ****,
Thank you for your inquiry. I understand your confusion about what was done. I would like to go over the history of Stuey. I hope this will clarify things.
Stuey came in on 12/12/08 as a new baby to us. A few tests were run indicating he had a bacterial overgrowth that was treated with Baytril (enrofloxacin). During this treatment you felt he improved, but relapsed a few days later. At that time Dr. Maas took a culture on 12/27/08. The culture cam back as Enterococcus bacteria. He was then placed on Clavamox based on the sensitivities of that bacteria.
The bacteria was also sensitive to Baytril, however since it seemed to have failed to clear the problem a different medication was chosen. On 1/13/09 Stuey again came in for follow-up cytology which was normal. At that time you indicated he seemed to sneeze primarily after baths. I was suspicious that there maybe some sinus abnormality that caused this problem. I recommended to monitor it closely and let us know if there were any problems.
On 2/5/09 You took Stuey to Northwest were a culture was performed. The culture showed Klebsiella and a Staph infection. Both these bacteria were sensitive to his previous two treatments we had prescribed. Your veterinarian than prescribed a longer term of the same antibiotic he was on with us, which was Baytril. Based on the fact that different bacteria were cultured each time I am more suspicious of new infections each time. However that may or may not be the case.
So my concern is really why has he been getting so many multiple infections that are sensitive to the same antibiotics. I would inquire with your new veterinarian about the possibility of giving a pro-biotic. Hopefully his last treatment has cleared things up.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this or Stuey health.
Dr. Ferguson
Avian & Exotic Animal hospital
Bothell, WA 98011
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Sherri ****"
To: avian51@comcast.net
Cc: info@theexoticvet.com, ((((redacted))), "Jen Youde"
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 11:02:58 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: RE: Request For Information
I appreciate the explanation; however, I'm not quite confused. I brought in a new bird. I was told he was sick. I brought him back multiple times until I was told he was no longer sick. Within two weeks, he had nasal discharge and I took him for a second opinion, as I had already had three or more visits to your office. He is, indeed, sick again and requires more treatment. I paid your office for my bird to be diagnosed and made well and that did not happen and now I am dealing with longer recovery times.
I am now requesting a refund in full for all procures done regarding Stuey's illness and if I have reason to believe his continued illness is due to a lack of action on your office's part, I will be pursuing that as well. This is not the first or second or third time I have heard of similar stories coming out of Dr. Maas' office. If I need to escalate this to the state veterinary board as well as the city and county which business is done, I will. However, I just want my bird to be well and not pay for substandard services.
I have been a client of Northwest Animal Care Hospital for years and have never had such an occurrence nor heard various stories of lacking treatment. In short, I hope you will 1) Work with my current veterinarian to make Stuey well 2) Make amends for not doing it the first time.
Thank you for your time.
Sherri ****
=====
From: avian51@comcast.net [mailto:avian51@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 5:13 PM
To: Sherri ****
Cc: info@theexoticvet.com; Jen Youde
Subject: Re: Request For Information
Dear Ms. ****,
I am sorry, but there appears to be a bit of a mis-communication. Please allow me to restate this - Your veterinarian did the same tests and prescribed the exact same medication as we did. The primary difference was in what was cultured from the bird. The different results indicated your bird was appropriately diagnosed and treated for for the conditions we identified. Based on the second culture not having the same bacteria, he was cleared of the initial infection from what we found.
At the last visit with us, no abnormal bacteria were identified on the cytology, and we noted that he was still sneezing occasionally. We advised you to watch it and contact us if you had further concerns or if it worsened. It is quite obvious that, based on the new culture and sensitivity done by your other veterinarian your bird has developed a new infection. Thus my concern about an underlying issue. I hope that is not the case and there are no further problems.
If you still have concerns about what was done I suggest you have your current veterinarian, which sounds like you have a good relationship with, call us. I would be happy to discuss the case and then determine what they thought could have been done differently.
Dr. Ferguson
Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital
Bothell, WA
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sherri ****
Date: Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Subject: RE: Request For Information
To: avian51@comcast.net
Cc: info@theexoticvet.com, Jen Youde , (((redacted)))
Your office did clear him of infection and he's sick again so soon? My other bird is perfectly healthy; Lacey the Cockatoo. I don't believe he was treated properly and/or diagnosed properly by you. That is exactly why I took him to another vet. Again, this is not the first or only time I've heard of this happening at your office. This is my last attempt requesting your office to refund the money I paid your office to treat my bird or to offer an amends of some sort before I contact the veterinary board and pursue small claims. In my initial request I requested to speak to the management or owner of the office; would that be you?
There is still a problemmy bird is on three weeks of Baytril twice a day. It's horrible to give this to him. He hates it. He runs away from me now. This could have all been fixed a LONG time ago and it wasn't. So stop saying there's mis-communication. The issue is I brought you a sick bird and still have a sick bird.
I've already given you my veterinarian's information. Pick up the phone and call them. Are you asking me to patch through a call for you?
I sent my original request to your office a week ago and you're still bantering about it. This represents the office's care about my pet. A phone wasn't picked up the first day you heard from me. I even told the front desk I wanted my records for a second opinion and they didn't so much as look up from their desks as they put the folder on the counter for me. Your office has a general, "Don't care" attitude.
Sherri ****
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Since my last email to Dr. Ferguson, I have received no response from their office. They have not called Dr. Johnson. I have spent another $120 on an office visit and follow-up culture. I have begun filling out small claims paperwork.
Sherri
Marysville, Washington
U.S.A.
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
ParrotTrainer
North Bend,Washington,
United States of America
Let's Reconsider
#6Consumer Comment
Sun, January 27, 2013
From what I am reading in your letters with your parrot, it sounds as though each time, they found a bacteria with your Conure. Each time it was a different bacteria, medications were changed due to resistant bacteria that your parrot showed. At the last visit, there was no "cytology" aka (also known as) tests showed nothing abnormal. However there were some symptoms, which they asked you to monitor.
Sneezing does not always show a problem and this is probably why they did not want to treat it longer. Birds will sneeze to clear dust out of their "nose" or after a bath, sometimes they get little bits of paper, food etc. in their system.
When you treat with an antibiotic, it kills the bacteria that is there if it's successful, however, because your bird continued to relapse with a different "bug" each time, this shows a weakness in his system. Also when you use antibiotics you need to reintroduce new good bacteria and cultures in their system because now they have nothing to prevent other bad bacteria and fungus's from invading the bird's system. Because of the fact that birds show their diseases late from the onset, it normally is quite established before treatment begins.
I would consider to start treating your parrot with natural pro-biotics. (Aka - good bacteria that helps them naturally resist disease) Give him a lot of fresh organic (washed) fruits and vegetables. A good pelleted diet for his "base" diet. Stay away from Peanuts which can carry bacteria/fungus that can attack their respitory system. "Aspergillosis" I would add benebac, orgnabac, a small amount of Nancy's Yogurt for beneficial bacteria. You need to build his own system up. I would suggest your current vet, may also want to swab and culture it out to get the best meds for your bird that will work for that specific bacteria/fungus that he may have currently.
Next, I would take a look at his environment. You mentioned that you had a cockatoo. There have been some reported cases that the bird... (yours would be Stuey) ..that they had in the same room as their cockatoo kept getting respiratory infections. Come to find out it was the extra dust from the cockatoo that he was reacting to. They ended up moving this bird to another room. If this is not "do-able" I would consider to put a very good air cleaner next to your cockatoo.
Ensure that the cage is CLEAN and that you're using an approved enzyme cleaner. NOT BLEACH to clean the cage, toys etc. Make sure the room you have him in is free of extra dust. It can be an issue, I know, I have two cockatoos, two greys and one amazon. I have two air cleaners, I dust once a week and vacuum the ceiling and walls down once a month. I sweep daily. Make sure the food you use, (if it's seed) make sure its a good clean brand and will sprout... this way you can tell if it's a live seed and not a dead seed. (heat treated to kill bugs also kills the nutrients that are available for absorption.)
If he is on seed... switch him to pellets, do this slowly if he has never had pellets and/or does not currently eating pellets. To try to starve a bird into eating pellets results in normally, a dead bird. There are many suggestions on line to suggest how to switch over. Best of luck for Stuey. But from what I read, in my opinion the Doctor has performed the necessary tests and prescribed the appropriate medication. He did not commit fraud and therefore does not owe you any money. Owning animals, and giving them appropriate care, does not come cheap. We should not expect the health care providers for our animals to help shoulder the costs when they have done nothing wrong.
Teresa
Monroe,Washington,
U.S.A.
Dr Maas is amazing!!
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, April 29, 2009
Our farm has used Dr Maas for the past two years and I dont know what we would have done without him. He has saved two of my kangaroos as differant times. These are like my children and are so precious to me. He treated them like they were his own animals,..and had to deal with me,..the hysterical mom of them. He has counseled me many times on the phone, and my husband says, "Its a good thing he doesnt charge for phone calls like a lawyer!" I needed to write this as I couldnt let it go unoticed of the job and great lengths that he will go to to save your pet.
He also has a great sense of humor which always helps when you are down in the dumps. We are very blessed to have a exotic vet in our area that knows how to treat the customers and so many differant breeds of animals.
Sincerely,
Teresa Wilmot
Devilsadvocate4education*just My Opinions*
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Something else
#6Consumer Comment
Sun, March 08, 2009
It appears as if the two vets HAVE communicated in some way due to the fact that they seem to know the details as to what exactly is going on with Stuey at this time. Your email posted to them only says that he was cultured again and that he is now on a 3 week course of antibiotics. Their email back gives the test results and the actual antibiotic so maybe they are more on top of the situation than it appears to you? Did YOU send them the records from the new place? Or did they speak to or request the records from the new vet and you simply weren't aware of the fact. It seems they were concerned enough about Stuey to somehow keep up with the situation and still give you some advice which is a very good thing for Stuey. If they refuse to contact the new vet, how do they know the latest details? Honestly, their emails to you indicate that at their attitude is far from a 'don't care' one and indicate they are concerned about Stuey regardless of whether or not they are the ones being paid to do so. Is there more to this complaint that wasn't posted? Again, please keep us updated on Stuey. What did the last culture say? Really hope everything gets figured out and settled soon for his sake.
Consumer32
Helena,Montana,
U.S.A.
Your complaint doesn't make any sense.
#6Consumer Comment
Sun, March 08, 2009
Sorry, I understand that you are upset at having spent money and you still have a sick bird. BUT, your complaint doesn't make sense. It's obvious you haven't thought about the science involved. Doctors don't guarantee their work, it's medicine on a living animal, not like getting your car repaired. Based on what you have written, it looks like this vet did everything he or she could have done. Does your new vet think there was malpractice involved? IF so, why not have him or her talk to the vet you are complaining about?
Devilsadvocate4education*just My Opinions*
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
I'm a little confused
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, March 07, 2009
It appears your poor little Stuey has caught and been diagnosed and treated for several concurrent illnesses. It seems as soon as one is cleared up another pops up? It appears you are using the same antibiotic but now for yet another illness. Have you looked into what could be the factors for these illnesses? It appears the original vet complained on diagnosed and treated at least two illnesses successfully and the new vet is now treating something entirely different but back to the original antibiotic. What did you expect them to do differently as the new vet appears to be doing the exact thing as the old? Yes, there's still a problem but the tests are apparently now showing a different illness AGAIN. If it was me, I would be more worried about WHAT was causing all the illnesses. Or am I missing something. Have you discussed all this with the new vet? Do they have any ideas about what is going on? Did you inquire about the pro-biotic? What did they say. Hope Stuey pulls through. Please keep us updated.