Cliffords Amputation Surgery

Hi everyone. I can’t even explain the level of anger I’m feeling right now. 4 weeks ago I took my girl to the vet for a routine checkup/fecal like I do approx every six months. It was the same vet clinic as always, just this time with a different doctor. He told me that her left leg was broken. He said dragons are resilient and it could’ve been broken for a year, or just a day, he didn’t know. She had been acting fine, jumping fine, eating perfectly and was as active as she’s always been so the break was a shock to me. He told me he’d like to save me money by not doing X-rays because he was certain it was broken and he casted it to her tail. That was a $200 visit. He said the cast will come off in 4 weeks, but would like to see me back in 2 to make sure that the cast was okay and her circulation was okay. So I go back two weeks later. He takes her into the back and supposedly takes off her cast and changes it and checks her circulation. He clipped two of her toenails very very short and said he couldn’t get them to bleed. He said he was NOT concerned and that the worst case scenario in this would be that she would lose a couple of toenails possibly. He said he even clipped the top part of the cast to make sure it was loose enough. I trust him and his word... he tells me not to mess with or take off the bandage until I come back two weeks later for them to remove it. Since that cast check appointment she was acting a lot slower, less interested in food and her eyes were closed a lot looking like she was in pain. The appointment for removal of the cast was yesterday. The vet that did this is currently on holidays until Jan 6th and so the appointment last night was back with my regular vet. She goes to take the cast off assuming all will be well and her ENTIRE leg is completely dead. No circulation, black, frozen looking and dead. It needs to be amputated. They quoted me a “cheap” estimate of $800 and a full estimate of $1200. I am in shock, I am livid and I feel sick for my poor girl. Yesterday I paid $150  for antibiotics, pain medication and a cream to put on the wound in between the live and dead part of the leg. I have put about $500 into this casting of her leg so far... and I feel betrayed that I put my trust into this vet with my prized CHILD and she has now lost her leg. I don’t have to be a vet to see that is exactly where the cast was, and ended on the top of her leg. She is such an active dragon, she has a massive enclosure and loves jumping and moving around and now she is just in so much pain and just isn’t the same girl. I was reassured she was fine more than once. I was told worst case a toenail or two would come off, I was told casting it to the tail would be great for her healing, I was told all of these things to have my poor girl lose her leg AND them try to charge me what I cannot afford for something I feel they did to her.

I have never made a donation page before. I can’t even begin to thank anyone that donates even a dollar towards my girls recovery. She’s two years old, I have had her since a hatchling and she’s my child. My dragons are so important to me, but this is my girl and I feel so betrayed. 

I have attached a photo of the day before her vet appointment when all was fine, with the cast on, with the cast off... and how sick and in pain she’s looking now, along with the estimate bill. Right now she is on pain medication, antibiotics and an antibacterial type cream to apply to the wound on the bottom of her leg where it has died. 

Thank you anyone and everyone who tries to help my girl have somewhat of a normal life again. It means the world to me like she does. 

Alicia