I was worried about my dog and took him in after he had a spill down some stairs. His breathing was rapid and was struggling. I was happy they got me in right before they closed. They said they could do xrays but weren't worried about it, mentioned his heart murmur with no concern, told me his breathing was rapid because he was vet, and to observe his breathing over the next week and call if i became worried. I felt like i had over-reacted to his fall and felt relief. Before i left the vet had left the room and the vet tech mentioned his heart murmur again and even let me listen to it. I was amazed at how unhealthy it sounded. The vet tech told me to listen to a normal dogs heart on youtube. I could feel he was trying to tell me something with out actually telling me.
Two days go on and i observed my dog struggling to breathe with his heart pounding out of his chest while trying to think he was "just adjusting to the fall". I decided to take him to a different vet that was open at the time (alta vista) and they immediately said my dog had heart disease and needed an xray to see if fluid had filled his lungs making it difficult to breathe. This was the case, his lungs were full of liquid and his heart was not functioning well. I got him on meds and he is much better and able to breathe.
I understand that they were in a rush and didn't want to take a new case at the end of the day, but it really disappointed me to find out his symptoms were "text book" and the actions to take were very straight forward.. but for some reason they didn't see it that way. This makes me question the ethics, professionalism, and knowledge of this vet.
If you need a great vet that cares about your pet and is knowledgeable go see Dr. Joshua Marion @ Alta Vista