Jasper's Story
Jasper was our 6 year old Pomeranian. He was the best fur kid anyone could ask for. He lived with a mild collapsing trachea. If you aren't familiar with this it is where the trachea rings weaken over time and collapses for brief periods of time.Very common in small dogs. He also had allergies. So we treated him with zyrtec and Flovent inhaler by Aero Dawg. It was manageable. Certainly not life threatening. His biggest obstacle was not being able to exercise aggressively. So this was our life. We managed and treated his symptoms. He had a good life, he was such a happy go lucky dog. I miss him so much!! So one day I noticed he wasn't eating. Jaspers ALWAYS ate! I knew something was up. So i called the vet and got him in right away. They diagnosed him with pneumonia. Put him on antibiotics and oxygen therapy. After a few days he stabilized and was able to come home. We continued his antibiotic therapy and he continued to improve. About 2 weeks at home I noticed his breathing was short again. I called the Vet took him back to oxygen therapy tent. They ran x-rays and sent them off to a Radiologist. They came back and said he needs to see a specialist and we recommend Blue Pearl in Oklahoma City. So, we immediately got him and drove the 4 hours to this hospital. I called to make sure they knew we were coming. Blue Pearl said when you get here we will have you drop him off and put him in a cage in the front lobby due to covid-19 restrictions and they would then immediately put him in oxygen. 4 hours later I walked in the front doors of Blue Pearl hospital a decision I will deeply regret forever. Our vet sent Blue Pearl all of Jaspers prior medical records and x-rays. Dr. Rothenburg from Blue Pearl later called us to find out what was going on. We had several back and forth conversations about how to move forward and what best treatment to help our little guy. We agreed to initial tests like heart worm, blood tests,covid-19 etc. but nothing invasive. We were hoping to try another antibiotic. Thinking maybe his bacteria had grown resistant or some thing like that. Well Dr Rothenburg told us she HIGHLY recommended he have a $8,000 bronchoscopy and cat scan ASAP. She also said she was only available today and tomorrow and after that it would be two weeks. We spent an entire day going back and forth calling with additional questions. Again, Dr Rothenburg at Blue Pearl assured us the procedure that she was recommending was safe with minimal complications. We asked how minimal? She said less than 10% have complications. She also followed up and indicated the procedure itself is safe. She also said complications if they are going to happen, happen during recovery. She said in her professional opinion this was the best route with the lowest risk to treat Jasper. She said it is the one that would get him back home to us the fastest. With a lot of heartfelt discussion and prayers my husband and I agreed to the procedure. The next day it was scheduled to be done around 3pm. I had asked if I could see him before the procedure they told me no. I asked if they would call me before they started. She said yes to that. I told them to tell Jasper I loved him and was praying for a good outcome. An hour and a half later I got a call from Dr Rothenburg saying she doesn't have very good news about Jasper. They aren't sure exactly what happened. She didn't know if they punctured a lung or it just ruptured. His oxygen began to drop and they went to intubate him and the air filled his chest not his lungs. Which caused both lungs to collapse then his heart stopped. They told me there was nothing they could do. We rushed to the hospital and this time they let us in, and put us in a room. Dr Rothenburg came in and I began to say you told me less than 10% you said he was stable, you told me usually complications come after the procedure not during. I was devastated. Her reply was simply “I told you there was risk” She was totally cold and emotionless. They brought me Jasper wrapped in a blanket and I ran out the front doors. We drove home 4 hours with him in my lap. I didn't want to say goodbye and let him go. I was there to help him. The worst 4 hours of my life. Not only did they take my precious Poms life they took our money too. Around $8,000 later we drove home to have a funeral. I can't tell you how awful of an experience this was. We were lied to and manipulated by a high pressure salesman that didn't care one way or the other what happened to Jasper. We later found out after we researched that there was a risk greater than 50% that Jasper might die during this procedure based on his pre-existing conditions. Some of this research was even found on Blue Pearls own website. Basically they committed fraud and took advantage of us in one of the most vulnerable possible positions. I am sharing this story to raise awareness. They are a huge corporation and they need to be exposed. Blue Pearl is owned by the Mars family. They are one of the largest private companies in the world. We have since done a lot of research of the company. We have found hundreds of complaints with very similar experiences to ours. They should not be able to get away with this. I am hoping the more voices we have that come together we can make a difference in Jaspers name for other families. We are currently in the middle of trying to get our money back. I don't know if they will issue a refund or not. Blue Pearls representatives have asked what they can do to make it right and we told them that cannot happen since Jasper died on your watch. At the very least we requested a full refund. We shall see. Please share your Blue Pearl stories with me and share this with your fur friends. It could save a life. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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