This Page is Dedicated to Lightening, Lady and now Lola

I would like to tell you about my babies, Lightening and Lady. Lightening was a Black Labrador. His full name was Sundown's Lightening Bolt, and he was born March 11, 1985 in Pinellas Park, FL. Lightening was given to me as a gift for my 18th birthday by Barbie Peitch. I brought Lightening home when he was four weeks old. He was so little, he fit in the palms of my hands with the tip of his nose hanging off one side and the tip of his tail hanging off the other side. Lightening was a wonderful dog who lived a long full life!

Unfortunately, on March 6th, 1999, Lightening had to be rushed to an emergency animal hospital because he had lost the use of his hind legs. The vet at the emergency animal hospital thought that he had either had a stroke, or had a slipped disk. Even with this possible diagnosis, the vet only x-rayed the cervical area of his spine (around his neck). She did not x-ray the rest of his spine. The reason the vet gave for only x-raying his cervical area is because she thought the problem was in his neck. She also told my mother that he was unable to use his front legs. My mother questioned that, because Lightening was using them his front legs in the car on the way to the vet. They kept Lightening for two days, until Monday afternoon. That Monday morning, the 8th, (which was also my birthday) I went up to the animal hospital to see Lightening. They had him in a kennel that was barely large enough for him and he was scared and obviously in pain. I sat down on the floor in front of the kennel so that I could talk to him and pet him for awhile. While I was sitting there, he tried to crawl out of the kennel, using his front legs, into my lap. I did not stay very long because it was obvious to me that he was getting very upset. I left after about 20 minutes. (I wish now that I had stayed longer because that was the last time I saw Lightening). Later that afternoon, my mother picked Lightening up and transfered him to our regular vet in New Caney. It did not take them very long to find out the problem with his legs. The did more x-rays down his back and found that two disks in his spine had deteriorated to the point that there was nothing left. They also found that his back was broken. At this time, my mother made the decision to go ahead and have him put to sleep so that he would not suffer anymore.

On Wednesday, March 10th, 1999, I called the Deerbrook Animal Hospital where Lightening was taken that Saturday, and spoke to Dr. Jackson. I asked her why the vet who saw Lightening did not take more x-rays of his spine. I told her that I thought Lightening has suffered unnecessarily for two days laying in the kennel, because Dr. Digilio had not taken more x-rays. I told her that I did not think Lightening received the care that he should have and that my mother paid for! She said she did not know why Dr. Digilio had not taken more x-rays, but would contact her and ask her. I also asked Dr. Jackson for a full refund for my mother. She said she could not give us a refund. The next day, the 11th, I called our regular vet, Animal Hospital of New Caney, and spoke with the Office Manager, Sue. At first I asked where I could file a complaint against the vet, Dr. Digilio, who had seen Lightening. She asked me what the situation was. Sue became involved on my behalf and contacted the regional manager for this other veternary office. The regional manager, Sharise already knew about the situation from Dr. Jackson, but thought it had been resolved. Sue advised her that it had not. Sue told her that I wanted an answer to my question from Dr. Digilio. Dr. Digilio finally called my home and left a message on my answering machine on Monday, March 15th stating that I could call her at the vet office if I had any questions. By the time I got the message and called her back, she was already gone for the day. For the next two days I tried to contact her and could never reach her. Finally Dr. Jackson called my home on Wednesday th 17th and also left me a message that Dr. Digilio would be at the office Thursday evening the 18th of March. I called Dr. Degilio on the 18th and finally reached her. From the moment the conversation began, Dr. Digilio was defensive and rude! She would hardly allow me to complete a sentence! She stated that the reason she did not x-ray farther down Lightenings' back was because she thought the problem was in the cervical area (neck area). She also told me that when Lightening was brought in, he was unable to use his front legs. I told her that I did not know anything about that, but when I went to see Lightening that Monday morning, he was using his front legs to try to pull himself into my lap. She then tried to get me to admit that her treatment of him made him better. I told her that I was not admitting that at all! (After having this conversation with her, I asked my mother about Lightening's front legs and she said the same thing, that the vet kept saying to her that he couldn't use his front legs and she tried to tell the vet that he had been using them! He was even using his front legs to sit up in the car when my mother picked him up to take him to our regular vet!)

Finally, after about 10 minutes of trying to talk to Dr. Digilio, I was very angry at her and told her that I was going to file a complaint against her and that I was going to sue her personnally, and I hung up on her! The next day, the 19th of March, I tried to call Sue at New Caney Animal Hospital to tell her about the conversation with Dr. Digilio, but was unable to reach her. I called her again on Monday the 22nd and reached her. I told her all about my conversation with Dr. Digilio and told her that I was done contacting Deerbrook Animal Hospital and that if she did not mind continuing to be my contact, I would appreciate her continued help. I also told her that I was definately going to file a formal complaint against Dr. Digilio and Deerbrook Animal Hospital, and that I would file a law suit if my mother did not receive a full refund for the amount she had spent there. Sue said she would be happy to continue helping me. She said she would contact the regional manager again and tell her about my conversation with Dr. Digilio.

Sue called me again on Tuesday the 23rd of March and advised me that she had spoken with the regional manager again and that the manager would call me. I have advised Sue that I will wait until Monday 29th or March. If I have not heard from the Regional Manager by that time, I will call Sue again. I also advised that I would like to have copies of the papers filled out on Lightening by Deerbrook Animal Hospital. I want the copies just in case I do file a lawsuit!

On Saturday, March 27th, 1999, I picked up copies of Lightening's records and spoke to Dr. Parsons at New Caney Animal Hospital and saw the x-rays of Lightenings back, which clearly showed the deterioration, and the fact that his back was broken.

It took nearly two months, but finally, my mother received a refund of the money she had paid to Deerbrook Animal Hospital for the care that Lightening DID NOT receive. I have to say that the attorney's for that hospital were not very smart when they wrote the release that had to be signed before my mother could get her refund. I am the one who complained and demanded a refund or there would be a lawsuit, not my mother. When the attorney's wrote the release, they did not put my name on it, so my mother signed it and got her refund. That allows me to still bad mouth the clinic if I so desire, which I DO!

Lady

Lady is my other baby. I adopted Lady from Special Pals in June of 1996. At the time I adopted her, she had only been there for a day or two. She was brought in with a male that looked exactly like her. The were brought in by someone who found them wandering somewhere. Unfortunatly, nothing was known about them. My vet said he thought she was about 6 to 8 months old when I adopted her. I also believe that she had been badly abused by a man. When I brought her home, she was terrified of her own shadow. She would hardly come near me and was terrified of men. Even now, almost three years later, she is still afraid of most men. There are only a few that she will have anything to do with. Even though she is still afraid of most men, she is a lot better now than she used to be. Now that we are in an environment where we see the same people and same dogs all the time on our walks, she is a very happy baby! She has quite a few "friends" at our apartment complex. (Update - It is now October 2005 and Lady is 10 years old. She is much more out going now and is not as afraid of men as she used to be. She absolutely adores the young man who moved in across the hall from us. Since she is now 10, it is obvious that she is getting old. She has developed some arthritis and limps quite often. She also has some old age warts and her nose and chin are getting very gray. Other than that, she is still doing well, and is loved and extremely spoiled!)

****UPDATE**** On the evening March 29, 2006, I had to rush Lady to the emergency animal hospital in Humble, (yes, the same one where Lightening received such awful care, however, it is now owned and operated by new vets, who turned out to be wonderful!). Lady had been lethargic all that day, and when I arrived at my parents that evening (as I was scheduled for surgery the next morning and would be staying there for a couple of weeks), she got up to greet me and had a hard time doing so. She then fell over. She got up again, and fell again. I picked her up and rushed out the door. When I arrived at the vet, they took one look in her mouth and told me she was extremely anemic. After running blood tests, it was determined that she had developed an auto immune diseas, almost like lukemia, and that her pancreas was destroying her red blood cells. We tried everything to save her. She was put on chemo drugs and a blood transfusion was done, trying to give the drugs a chance to work. Unfortunately, they didn't. Lady passed away at home, at 2:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, April 1, 2006. She is buried in the backyard, next to the pool she loved to walk around. Rest in peace my sweet Ladybaby. I love you and will miss you forever!

Lola

On June 30, 2006, I adopted a new baby, and her name is Lola. She is a Jack Russell Terrier. She will be one year old on January 5, 2007. She is a sweet little thing who loves to cuddle and give kisses. She is very smart, when she wants to be, and has done well in our obedience classes. She's my precious lille angle who I love dearly!