Rocky’s story of veterinarian neglect that led to 2 corrective surgeries and thousands in medicine, tests, and care.

I have a 1-year-old rat terrier named Rocky, whom I've been taking to a certain clinic since I adopted him. Unfortunately, he had cryptorchidism, and the clinic told me he needed a cryptochid neuter or he would get cancer. When I got Rocky back after the neuter, they told me there had been a small issue but that everything was fine. EVERYTHING was far from fine. Rocky couldn’t urinate for more than 24 hours. THEY BOOKED THE SURGERY ON A FRIDAY AND ARE CLOSED ON THE WEEKEND so I couldn’t reach them for help. I took him to an emergency vet, where they struggled to insert a catheter because something was wrong with his urethra. IT WAS TIED OFF. They told me he had kidney failure from being unable to urinate and needed emergency surgery the next morning because he was dying and suffering. My 10-month-old puppy was dying.

The corrective emergency surgery and treatment ended up COSTING OVER $10,000. After fighting with the clinic, they agreed to pay for the surgery, but only if I signed a document stating I wouldn’t “pursue further financial compensation”and that I can not publicly speak on it or mention the clinics name. Because of that, I can not mention the name of clinic, because they have already threatened to sue me for defamation for trying to speak out publicly once. Once I accepted the check, they wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. Ever since then, I’ve never gotten a call or anything from the original clinic to ask how Rocky is doing, not like I expected them to anyway.

The neuter was in October and it’s now early April, and Rocky is still on medications to treat an infection and now a blockage from the complications. What started as a $700 neuter turned into THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OUT OF POCKET THAT THEY DID NOT COMPENSATE, in diapers, medications, tests, and more. I had to learn how to give my puppy AT HOME subcutaneous fluids and even place a catheter.

He has been battling an extremely resistant bacteria that led to him having an infection for MONTHS.

Unfortunately for these past 2 weeks, he has been dealing with a new problem, which is almost complete blockage. He is not able to empty his bladder on his own, so I’ve been taking him to the hospital to have his bladder emptied with a needle in his stomach. He now will need to have a Cystotomy w/ Tube placement, meaning he will have a port connecting his bladder to his abdomen, allowing his urine to be extracted without having to poke his belly every day.

All of this is because he is a victim of veterinary negligence. He experienced a botched neuter at less than a year old and has led to extreme complications.

I am in college and working a part-time job, and 90% of my money has gone towards Rocky and his care. Since this has been going on for months, I am reaching a point where I will not be able to afford his care anymore. I’ve worked hard to give him more time on Earth because he is barely a year old and didn't deserve what happened to him. I want to continue to give him more time with me and my family but I now need help to cover the costs. I've attached a photo of just ONE of the bills I've had to cover, as well as notes from his doctor's about his condition.

If you have read up to this far, it means so much to me. I wish I could share my experience and warn people in Miami of the clinic that botched his neuter, but I can’t because they’ve threatened me with legal action if I mention their name. He deserves better than what he got and he deserves to have more time. If you have any questions about him please feel free to reach out to me. If you'd like to see more pictures feel free to ask as well. Thank you so much for reading