VCA, Inc.

Yes, friends, VCA has had my review removed twice now. Here's a message to Yelp. There are no "privacy" concerns. My lawsuit in Small Claims Court against VCA for $10,000 is a matter of public record. Please stop harming your customers, Yelp, by removing legitimate reviews. Here we go again:

VCA San Francisco Veterinary Care Specialists and Drs. Catherine S[redacted] and Kristine C[redacted] ("VCA"), and The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Drs. Richard [redacted], Randy B[redacted], Emily A[redacted], Kathy G[redacted], Anne M[redacted], and Shelly H[redacted] ("SFSPCA"), are jointly and severally liable for $10,000 for mistreating my cat, Harvey. Causes of action include: Veterinary malpractice; Fraud, deceit, fraudulent concealment, intentional/negligent misrepresentation; Gross negligence, negligence; Intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress; Breach of contract. Actual damages likely exceed $100,000.

This case is simple. What should have been a straightforward hyperthyroidism case costing less than $1000 and with a rapid recovery, turned into a months-long nightmare for which I was charged more than $5000 (not including large additional costs for pharmaceuticals and rehabilitation) due to defendants' incorrect diagnosis, fraudulent concealment of options, and numerous medical mistakes. Lost earnings and extreme emotional distress made these losses far greater.

Facts: On June 20, 2015, Harvey suffered a thromboembolism (saddle thrombus) and was paralyzed from the waist down. Saddle thrombus is a symptom of heart disease. He had just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. It is well established in veterinary science (including VCA's published articles) that hyperthyroidism causes secondary heart disease, "[h]yperthyroidism is the most treatable cause of cardiomyopathy [and] complete resolution of the heart disease is possible." vcahospitals.com/main/pe.... In addition to the saddle thrombus, Harvey was also suffering from other life-threatening consequences of heart disease secondary to hyperthyroidism, including respiratory distress, hypertension, heart murmur, cardiomegaly, cardiomyopathy, and congestive cardiac disease. Harvey should have been treated immediately for hyperthyroidism.

Instead, SFSPCA and VCA failed to identify the likelihood that Harvey's heart disease was secondary to hyperthyroidism and easily treatable. They falsely told me there was no effective treatment for Harvey and pressured me to euthanize him. They fraudulently concealed the fact that hyperthyroidism causes heart disease, failed to inform me that heart disease is reversible when hyperthyroidism is treated, failed to treat hyperthyroidism, prescribed 25% of the recommended starting dosage of thyroid medication with no instructions for increasing the dosage, warned me not to give even this pitiful dosage, and fraudulently concealed the fact that this was too low a dose to control his hyperthyroidism.

As both SFSPCA and VCA knew, Harvey was also at risk for congestive heart failure ("CHF") and pulmonary/pleural edema. They should have given me guidance about what CHF is, how treating hyperthyroidism could reverse CHF, how to recognize the symptoms of CHF/edema, and how to increase the dosage of the life-saving diuretic Lasix in response to those symptoms. VCA fraudulently concealed this information, prescribed an inadequate dose of Lasix, warned me against giving this inadequate dosage, and failed to return urgent phone calls when a life-threatening situation was unfolding. SFSPCA failed to provide Lasix at all until weeks later. These and other wrongful acts caused delays in treating Harvey's highly treatable condition, ultimately resulting in catastrophic harm to Harvey and me.

Imagine how shocked I was to discover, months later, after applying my own research to the situation, that we actually had a simple problem with what should have been a simple solution. Harvey's dire situation began to stabilize with a simple, affordable, at-home treatment protocol. Harvey was not hopeless and did not need expensive and stressful echocardiograms and other expensive treatments that had been pushed on me. What Harvey needed was a proper dosage of the thyroid medication, methimazole. When Harvey finally got a higher dosage, the other problems started to resolve. Not only did Harvey's breathing stabilize with adequate thyroid medication, but also his anorexia and weight loss resolved. His appetite returned, and after many months he was finally restored to his original weight of 11 pounds.

Message me if you want a copy of what I filed (it's a matter of public record) in court.