Highland Veterinary Hospital

Took my dog to Cindy Costin. Put my dog out to pull a weed out and never fixed problem. Cost me over $600.00. Took my dog to another vet and they thought she had another weed in her ear and didn't need to put my dog out and then she realized it was hair but didn't need to put my dog out cause me and her helper held the dog steady. Gave my dog three med for a little over a hundred and my dog is doing great.

It cost me more to go to Highland Vetinary then it would to go to a doctor myself. They are out for the money only. They also said this laser treatment will help her ears heal as they only got worse. Took her back changed med and got worse. Beware and don't go there. She should not be a vet and another friend had even a worse experience with her and cost him $1,500.00

I have retracted my review of Highlands Veterinary Hospital after a serious incident that changed they way I will look at Cindi Costin and her hospital.



My cat didn't have any teeth. You can imagine the gravity of my situation when I learned that he had broken his arm and had two choices: 1) Expensive, reconstructive surgery, or 2) a full amputation; my heart sank. I couldn't afford the first, and the latter seemed unfavorable as he was already missing his teeth. He was basically defenseless. So I chose to euthanize my almost 9 year old boy. As such, I informed Highlands of my decision, and they asked me to come down to the hospital for the procedure.



I'm not sure how to describe what happened next, so I'm just going to call it a nightmare. Without informing me, Dr. Costin called Albert's Angel Fund. They agreed to pay for the amputation as long as I surrendered my cat. *record scratch* "No," my friends and I said, "He is already defenseless from not having any teeth, and now you are going to cut off his arm and send him back to the shelter?" Dr. Costin assured me that his needs would be accommodated and that maybe he could go live in a garage with his new foster family. Yep... a toothless, armless cat has the opportunity to look forward to wondering where his human mother went and why he is living in a garage.



I declined their "opportunity" and elected to euthanize. So, Dr. Costin had me signed a consent to cease treatment, which I thought was the precursor to euthanasia. They brought my cat back into the room and handed me a receipt for the "services" rendered. I said to the tech, "No, this cat is being euthanized." She said, "Dr. Costin will not euthanize the cat because she does not ethically agree with him being put down."



So, Dr. Costin has an "ethical" concern over euthanization because of a simple amputation, but she has no problem releasing a cat that has been under heavy sedation and has had his broken arm poked and prodded, and it still wasn't fixed. I think anyone with a brain can see how this line of thinking is faulty and illogical: Don't euthanize a cat to make a point, but it's okay to release him in extreme pain? I don't understand this, and Dr. Costin is an embarrassment to the community of Butte and surrounding areas.



Other highlights from the Day Of Hell, include:



- Dr. Costin looking back at me one more time and saying, "Are you sure you don't want to do anything to save his life?"



- Being chased with a clipboard by a chubby secretary for payment. I saw her at least 4 times in my 2 hours there. Don't worry folks, Highland's got every last penny for sedation and x-rays, plus the office visit.



- When I refused Albert's Angel Fund, she called them and put Jacki Casagranda, from Albert's, on the phone. Even after I said, "No," she continued to rail me about amputation. I said no at least 15 times on the phone call. I have never been so appalled in my whole, entire life.



- I was also blamed for the broken arm by Dr. Costin because I waited to take him in. I'm sorry, but the chubby secretary wouldn't let me make an appointment without $90. You refused treatment because I couldn't pay. You are the ones with blood on your hands.



So, after all of this, I took him to Amherst. Animal Hospital at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, where Dr. Peretti agreed that my cat was too old to heal properly and that it was ethically okay to put him to sleep. Finally, my boy got the peace he needed from the pain.



Yes, I am angry at Highland's, and I want to make one thing very clear to anyone considering this vet: Highland's will not help you make the tough decision to put an animal down, which is a very important part of owning a pet. They only made this part worse, and I hope that someday, "doctor" Costin realizes that she acted like a spiteful, petty witch on a day when I needed her good judgment the most.