It Was Obvious at the Time Moxie's Left Leg Was Bothering Him. We Thought at the Time It

March 9th; approximately 7:30 pm we heard our 3 dogs running to get outside (besides Moxie we have a 10 yr. Dobe & Rot mix). We know this because we could hear Moxie who was barking excitedly. As Moxie was running and barking his bark kicked up to yelping. Clearly he was hurt. Since nobody saw the dogs heading outside, we are uncertain as to how Moxie hurt his back. My suspicions are he hurt it as he was running down the stairs.

It was obvious at the time Moxie's left leg was bothering him. We thought at the time it was just his leg. He was still getting around, although slowly. At bedtime, Moxie went upstairs unnoticed and by himself. I thought this was a good sign.

March 10th; Its breakfast time. Our 2 big dogs come downstairs to eat as they always do. Moxie however remained in his bed. I carried him downstairs for him to have his breakfast. He wanted no part of breakfast which is never the case. It was obvious both his rear legs were now bothering him and not supporting his weight well (he remained in a seated position in front of his bowl of food without ever taking a bite).

I decided to call Moxie's Vet (Lake Forest Animal Clinic). I made an appointment to take him in at 8:30 am. My 18 yr. old daughter and I arrived early and they took us in right away. The Vet examined Moxie and took an X-Ray of Moxie's spine. Upon review of the X-Ray, the Vet suggested that he make us appointment at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital. Our Vet stressed the first 24 hours are the most critical with a spinal cord injury. He arranged for us a 10:45 am appointment with Dr. Wayne Berry.

My daughter and I arrived early and met with Dr. Berry's Ass't. (I think her name was Dr. Korhner). Upon her examination of Moxie, she thought surgery was a certainty. We agreed to leave Moxie in their care. I paid $1,100 for the test to performed which was half of the actual cost.

2:30 pm; Dr. Berry calls me (this is the first time he and I have spoken) and says he has reviewed the test results and Moxie needs to have the surgery. He's going to take care of the problem area and the surrounding area of the spine. I agreed at this time to have the surgery. He patched me through to their billing department and I agreed to pay $2,488 for the surgery which was half of the actual cost.

4:30 pm; Dr. Berry calls me and says the surgery was successful. He suggested to let Moxie rest with no visits.

7:15; Dr. Berry calls me and said he was a little concerned that Moxie wasn't responding like he should and might have had a couple of mini-strokes or maybe a blood clot. He stated Moxie had a couple of seizures following surgery. I was driving to LA at the time and was obviously crushed by this news. I told Dr. Berry I am turning around and heading to the Hospital but with traffic I will get there around 9:30 pm. (because I knew my daughter would want to go with me which she did so I had to go by our house to pick her up). He agreed and said he would call me again around 8:00 pm for another update. He called me a little after 8:00 pm and said Moxie's condition was not better and actually feared it had gotten worse. He stated that Moxie's right eye has drooped which is typically a sign of a stroke. I burst out in tears with Dr. Berry on the phone. I called my daughter with this update and we are now both a mess.

9:30; My daughter and I arrive at the Hospital at 9:30 pm. They allowed us into ICU and one look at our Moxie we broke down in tears. It was obvious this was a bad situation. My daughter and I kept talking and talking to Moxie. Looking for any slight positive sign of improvement. We were hoping the sound of our voices would help to wake him up. After a long while Moxie started to make some signs of improvements. His drooping right eye that Dr. Berry said is associated with a stroke, was back in a normal eye-tracking position. I asked the attending ICU Doctor about this and she said this was a very encouraging sign. Moxie started to make some gagging sounds from the tube in his throat (he was intubated). Again, all positive signs that he was starting to come around. When you would touch around his eyes he would twitch. The staff was sharing our enthusiasm that Moxie was clearly doing better and starting to come around. Approximately around 2:15 am. they gave Moxie a drug to make him more relaxed. They said as he starts to wake up this will help him feel more comfortable given that he has a tube in his throat. I am not certain the name of the drug but it was fast acting. Moxie never was responsive again after receiving this drug. His blood pressure dropped to an alarming level (low 40's) so they had to reverse course and cut the dosage and give him some drugs to bring his blood pressure back up. Around 2:35 am I noticed they were using a hand pump on Moxie which up until now he was breathing on his own (they were giving him oxygen though). Also during this time period I noticed on Moxie's chart that his body temperature had dropped twice. At this same time they put a heating pad (or might have been a blanket on him). Again, during this whole time, and ever since they gave him the drug around 2:15 am to relax him, there were no longer any positive signs that we had enjoyed earlier.

3:00am; My daughter and me exhausted headed for home. No sooner we arrive home then we get a call from the Hospital that Moxie had taken his last breath. That stated that they thought he took his last breath while we were there. That they had to use a hand pump to keep his heart going. I was asked if I wanted them to put him on the ventilator. I said no, he had been through enough today. The charge doctor for the evening came on the line and I had to give my permission for them to put our Moxie to sleep. It was at this time they asked if I would like him cremated to which I said yes.

March 11th; Dr. Berry calls me around 9:30 am. He said he went ahead and performed a postmortem MRI on Moxie's brain and to his surprise, Moxie hand no sign of any strokes or blood clots. His opinion, Moxie must've had an allergic reaction. His guess it was the dye administered to Moxie in order to do the test. I asked Dr. Berry what all was given to Moxie in order to do the test and surgery... he stated the dye, anesthesia and steroids. There was not much more to discuss and we concluded our call.

March 14th; I called over to Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital to request Moxie's records. I spoke with Ismerelda who was most helpful. She said she would have them ready for me Tuesday, March 15th. I also called Lake Forest Animal Clinic and requested Moxie's medical records.

March 15th: I picked up Moxie's records from LFAC and headed over to SCVSH to do the same. Upon arrival I was asked to wait. I was shortly ushered into an exam room due to Dr. Berry wishing to visit with me. I was there maybe 3 minutes and Dr. Berry entered the room. He shared he has never in his career seen a case like this with Moxie. His thinking was that Moxie must've been a reaction to the dye. We concluded our brief yet cordial chat and I picked up Moxie's medical records at the front desk on my way out.

5;15 pm; I called SCVSH and requested my monies paid be refunded. I had to leave a message in Gilbert Velasquez's voicemail who is the Hospital Administrator.

March 16th; I called over to ask who the anesthesiologist was on Moxie. I was placed on hold and was put through to Gilbert Velasquez. I asked him if he had heard my voicemail and he had not. I said lets chat once you have heard it.

12:30 pm; Gilbert Velazquez calls me but I miss his call. I called him back and he said he wanted to let me know that they put a bill in the mail to me the prior day and the doctor deducted $1400 off the bill. I said what about my voicemail of waiving the other monies paid. He said that was not going to happen. I said well there is not much more to discuss and we hung up.

5:00 pm; I reached out to Wells Fargo to explain what had happened and wanted to file a dispute. They said my funds would be returned pending an investigation.

March 18th; It was discovered that Moxie's Medical Records did not include the Medical Treatment Sheet. I called Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital for this information. I was informed this required the approval of the Hospital Administrator. Around 3:00 pm I was called and told this information (Medical Treatment Sheet) will be emailed to me. I was also informed that Moxie's ashes were ready for pick up. Approximately 4:00 pm I received the requested information via email from SCVSH. I drove over to SCVSH to pick up Moxie's ashes. I was told by an attendant at the front desk there was an unpaid balance of $2,628.15 due and had to be paid prior to releasing Moxie to me. I asked why was I not told this over the phone? There was no mention of a remaining balance having to paid prior to releasing Moxie's ashes to me. I was told this was hospital policy and I was welcome to discuss it with the Hospital Administrator. I said I would like to do so. I was ushered into a room and waited for a couple of minutes to speak with Gilbert Valasquez. I explained everything to Mr. Velasquez and he said this was the hospital policy and there was nothing he could do so I left without Moxie.

March 19th; I arrived around 1:00 pm. at SCVSH to pick up the ashes of Moxie. I had to write a check of course for the balance in order to get Moxie's ashes. Upon receiving Moxie's ashes, I drove to Wells Fargo and stopped payment on the check for $2,628.15.

Summary; This has been a complete nightmare. However what I know to be actual and factual is that Moxiehad high blood pressure throughout his surgery (that could help explain the 2 seizures). Additionally he never recovered after the Hospital gave him a drug around 2:15 am on the 11th. It was approximately 30 minutes thereafter his breathing stopped.

Respectfully,

Craig Ahrens

949-246-2414