Support Zeus's Surgery and Recovery

My name is Joy, and here is the story of how we got here with our boy, Zeus.

Back in November of 2024, Zeus started having some pain and itching in his ears. We called the local vet office and they were able to get us in after about 4 weeks. The first appointment was fine, they checked his ears and cleaned them out. The vet said that given his breed, ear irritation wasn't uncommon, and as he is 7 years old, we've dealt with our fair share of ear issues. This felt different, but after giving him antibiotic ointment and some anti-inflammation meds, he seemed to improve drastically!

A couple weeks later, he started to shake his head and whine when he would try to eat, yawn, turn his head...pretty much everything. We thought that the infection was starting to come back, so I called the vet for a recheck. Our vet that had handled him the first time around wasn't in the office, so they scheduled us with another vet. We'll call him "Alan Jackson". Alan Jackson gave him a quick once-over (and when I say quick, I mean hands-off/quick glance at him) and said that his ears and mouth looked fine, that it could be allergies and prescribed him Apoquel, then sent us on our way. (Per the medical records, the vet noted that the owner (me) declined blood work for diagnostics. In reality, Alan Jackson said that there was no point in blood work for allergies, as everything else looked fine and didn't give him cause to think blood work should be needed)

A couple days later, we came home to find our boy with a large mass on his jaw line, right under his ear. I called the vet the next morning and they asked for me to bring him in and drop him off so that they could take a look and order whatever tests they would need to diagnose. At this time, they did blood work and a cytology of the lump to see if they could determine if it was a mass or an abscess. The results came back that it was an abscess from an infection that Alan Jackson "assumed" was from his ear infection. This caused some concern, as he had just assured us at the prior visit that his ears and mouth were fine, and that his blood work was great, no signs of cancer (that was what he said he was checking for). Given the size of the lump and the pain that he was in, along with a 105 temp, they decided to do surgery on 2/14/2025. For those keeping track, this is now 3 months after the first appointment for his ear pain.

When he went for his surgery, I was told to pick him up later that afternoon. Towards the end of the day, the wonderful surgery tech called to give me an update on his condition and I was appalled at what I heard. She explained that the medicated ointment that we were told to stop using never should have been stopped, as it might have been what was keeping the infection at bay. The ears and mouth that Alan Jackson insisted were "normal" a couple days prior to this were a mess. Zeus had holes that were in his gums and palate from the infection tunneling through (which would explain why he wouldn't eat) and she said it took them an entire box of q-tips to get all the infection out of his ear. After hearing this, she recommended that Zeus stay overnight for further observation. (Let me be clear, the surgery tech that called was the most empathetic and kind woman I've ever spoken to. She let me vent to her, ask questions and more importantly...she was HONEST with me, much more so than the actual vet.) By this point, I had had enough of the run around and requested a meeting with the vet, the office manager and myself when I came to pick up my boy that day. I wasn't leaving him in their care for another hour, let alone another day. When I arrived, they took me and my husband into an exam room to discuss my "issues". When I asked about just a few days prior when I was told his ears and mouth were fine but now he has holes in his jaw, Alan Jackson admitted that he didn't really do an exam and look INTO his ears, but he looked okay to him from what he saw. Even the office manager looked taken aback by that response. It didn't take long to see that we weren't getting anywhere close to a resolution, so we demanded copies of the medical records and retrieved our dog to leave. The office manager then brought me the invoice for his surgery - at which point she crossed it off and said the bill was waived for our "convenience". While I appreciate her writing off that $700 bill, it doesn't even begin to make up for the rest of the ongoing bills that we have because of their mistakes.

We are now with another vet, who is amazing, but we aren't out of the woods yet. There is at least one more surgery to come, but first we have to get his CT scan done. There are only a select few places in the tri-state area that have CT machines for animals, so we have to take him to Ft. Wayne for this test. The test and consultation alone is $2,000. They believe that the next step after the CT to confirm the diagnoses will be an ear canal ablation of the left ear to essentially remove all the inner ear, which should stop the issue, but will leave our guy deaf in his left ear. The infection is so deep into the inner ear that nothing can penetrate the ear drum to drain it and prevent it from coming back. If that is the way we need to go, that surgery is an additional $3400-$4400, for a total of $6400 for this next step alone. I understand that times are tough for everyone, they're tough here too. But this dog is so much more than a dog. He's our protector. He's our peace, our constant companion who loves as hard as he can. It's taking everything I have to sit and type this out, knowing that I am begging for help when I'm a very proud woman who hates asking for anything, but here I am. If you do not feel inclined to give or are unable to give, please share our story and send us a few good vibes if you can. Positive thoughts and healing vibes can do wonders and I'll take all that we can get.

If you would like to hear more of our story and the absolute horror at the first vet, please reach out and I can provide much more info, including his records to back up my claims. I know that the cost is astronomical, that is why I'm asking for help.

Thank you for reading and for your time and consideration. Zeus and the rest of our family appreciate you so much!