Cobleskill Veterinary Clinic Dr. Baldwin, Dr. Durie, Dr. Montario andDr. Pocchairi Committed malpractice and was incompetent in treating/diagnosing my dog and as a result she died. Cobleskill New York

About six years ago all the veterinarians at Cobleskill Veterinary Clinic agreed that  my Labrador Retriever had a Lipoma, which is just a fatty harmless tumor.  Since diagnosed we would ask about removal most everytime we were there for our dogs.  All of their responses were “Well, we can remove it, but if it were my dog I would not risk putting her under anesthesia for that, they are harmless”.If for some reason she would have to go under for another reason, then I would remove it” 

We trusted what they told us  As the years went on we mentioned that it was hardening and getting bigger, but their opinion never changed.  They never aspirated it to confirm their diagnosis, nor did they ever mention to us that they could.  Had I known this could be done, I would have insisted on it. 

In January 2015, we decided to have it removed because it was getting bigger and harder and to have her teeth cleaned at the same time.  A short time later we noticed more “Lipomas” on her.  Made an appointment immediately, but ended up in the Animal Emergency Room.  She was given a thorough examination with an ultrasound and x-rays  and many other masses were found.

The Vet diagnosed her with mast cell tumor and said that the “lipoma” was cancer.  When I called Cobleskill Vet Clinic the next day and told them what happened  I found out that they never biopsied it because they didn't know we wanted them to.  Here all this time I thought they did, never heard back, so assumed there wasn't a problem.  We assumed it was common practice to biopsy everything removed.

I have had three Veterinarians concur that they should have been aspirating it from time to time to confirm diagnosis and biopsied it after removal. This was negligence and malpractice on their part.  We spent $5,000.00 on cancer treatment for her but she passed away 4 months later.  i filed a formal complaint with the New York State Office of Professional Discipline.  Hopefully they will be held accountable.  

I am much wiser now and this will not happen again, I will always make sure I insist on aspiration of  Lipomas, as they can turn into cancerous tumors, and make sure anything removed is biopsied.  My dog's life could have been saved if I had more knowledge, so I hope this complaint will help all those who read it. My advice to you is, if you are using this Vet Clinic  STOP! and if you are thinking about using them DON'T!