Our experience with PetSound Animal Hospital was one of the most heartbreaking and distressing experiences we have ever gone through as pet owners.
We brought our 1 year old puppy back for a post-operative neutering appointment (performed by Dr. Stewart) due to serious concerns including lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, refusal to eat/drink, and documented moderate to severe dehydration following surgery and prescribed NSAID medication. Despite these symptoms, no bloodwork or advanced diagnostics were performed, and our 1 year old puppy was ultimately sent home after minimal treatment.
Hours later, his condition continued worsening and we rushed him to VEG Emergency Hospital in Cary, where his care was immediately escalated. VEG performed extensive diagnostics, hospitalized him with documented owner consent, and ultimately diagnosed pancreatitis following ultrasound evaluation (a severe and potentially life-threatening condition well recognized in veterinary medicine as being associated with anesthesia, NSAID exposure, and/or surgical trauma).
What has been equally disturbing is what we discovered afterward during the insurance and Board complaint process: multiple different versions of the same PetSound medical record exist. The medical records originally provided directly to us as clients differed from the version later produced during the Board review process, including:
• differing documented respiration values
• additional handwritten clinical entries
• and undocumented diagnostic values not present in the original client copy.
Even more concerning, the version containing the handwritten additions reflected an earlier print timestamp than the “official” copy later provided to us without those entries.
Despite raising these concerns repeatedly, they were continuously minimized as insignificant or “interpretation,” despite the discrepancies being objectively reflected in the records themselves.
We also made attempts to speak directly with Dr. Stewart regarding our puppy’s condition and what occurred following what was presented to us as a routine neuter procedure. We have documentation of those efforts, but were ultimately told that only the insurance company would communicate with us moving forward. At no point did anyone from PetSound reach out to ask how our puppy was doing after we informed them of his emergency hospitalization and diagnosis. The complete lack of empathy, accountability, and concern shown throughout this process has been incredibly upsetting.
We understand that complications can happen in veterinary medicine. What has been most disturbing is the inconsistent documentation, the dismissive handling of legitimate concerns, and the complete absence of compassion shown afterward.
We are sharing our experience so other pet owners can make informed decisions, ask questions, carefully review medical records, and seek immediate second opinions when serious post-operative symptoms arise.
