Keystone Veterinary Services

I took my dog there because he was losing weight, throwing up, and didn't want to eat much of anything. The vet took a listen, never took blood work, just sent me home with worming meds and a new diet. I did suggest Lymes disease, but was told the symptoms don't usually present as G.I. problems. The next week I rushed him back because he was getting worse, and wouldn't eat anything. The vet then looked at him and said, I don't know, his symptoms aren't making sense. After he threw up on his table, the vet then drew blood. The next day I had a message from Dr. Hartung saying he had Lymes disease, and it looked like it was effecting his kidneys, so I picked up antibiotics and anti-emetics, and was told it should only take a few days for him to bounce back. A week later (this past week) I took him to the Kittanning Vets Hospital, where they had his records faxed and looked at him. After only looking at the labs that Dr. Hartung had taken the previous week, they told me his kidneys had been damaged, and that he had probably already lost about 70% of his kidney function. His outlook wasn't good, and they started him on an IV right away and tried to lower his phosphorus levels which were off the charts, and his labs were all too high. After Kittanning Hospital trying their absolute best and giving him lots of love and care for three days, he had gotten worse, and we had to have him put to sleep so he would no longer suffer. I don't know if getting him the correct treatment a week or maybe even two would have helped us save or maybe just prolong my dog, Ruffy's life, but it would have been nice if he would have told me how bad his labs were and that he needed immediate attention. He should have drawn blood the first week when he had seen how much weight he had lost. Price wise: I spent close to $400 on his two visits and meds at Keystone Vets. At Kittanning Animal Hospital, I spent the same, and he was hospitalized for 3 days, had IV's and meds, and had him put to sleep, plus the visit when I had him admitted. Dr. Allaman and the other staff were great, and if I could go back in time, I would not have taken him anywhere other than Kittanning Animal Hospital. In fact, I would have taken him anywhere else.