Medway animal hospital Dr. Monica Mansfield Dr. Monica Mansfield always had differing stories, excuses, and her manager seemingly thinks this is ok Medway Massachusetts

My husband and I had went to Medway Animal Hospital in Medway, Ma because our dog was diagnosed with Cushing's and no vet seemingly could get it controlled. She was still drinking a lot, her hair was falling out profusely and her skin was very flakey with sores. We had initially saw a doctor there that was a bit older that right away was concerned about a heart murmur and she spoke of the range it was at. She conveyed to my husband and I that we really should get a chest X-ray of the heart, and the teeth were of concern too. She also mentioned a thyroid test because she believed our dog was probably dealing with a thyroid issue in addition to the Cushing's disease. Heart murmur was also present prior to going to this hospital  ranging from a 2 to a 4-6. It fluctuated as noted in the many notes on our dog. 

Dr. Monica Mansfield had seen Sadie after the first doctor had there when Sadie had an ear ache. Dr. Mansfield was told by my husband and I that the doctor there that initially saw her was concerned about the heart. Dr. Mansfield stated when she had seen Sadie her murmur fluctuated anywhere from a 2 back up to 4-6 - but at other timesdown to a 2. She indicated that the fluctuation wasn't concerning her because the murmur wasn't consistently at a high range.

Through the following year and a half Sadie was having issues with keeping weight on, drinking a lot, thus in turn urinating a lot. 

Dr. Mansfield diagnosed her as hypothyroid as her blood results showed she was rock bottom. However after she was on the medicine prescribed (soloxine) she continued to lose weight rapidly, all her food was going through her as soon as you fed it to her. I brought this up to Dr. Mansfield and she stood by her stance that the numbers showed she was rock bottom even though I saw visibly with my own eyes the frequency in which she would defecate after eating, the fact she was breathing heavy - this really didn't concern the doctor. She kept referring back to the test results.

In the beginning of this year sadie cracked a tooth. Dr. Mansfield stated verbatim that "if it were her dog she would get the tooth pulled ASAP." We asked about the heart murmur. She stated she wasn't concerned and reiterated her statement about if it were her dog. She did state that it was up to us though that if we wanted peace of mind we could do an ultrasound of the heart or at least a chest X-ray. But she again stated she didn't think it was necessary. 

I saw what my own dog was doing. Breathing heavy, losing weight etc. Her Cushing's was evidently still controlled earlier last year at 40 mgs however you would think as the dog continued to lose weight this dose might be too high. 

She also relayed to me that the kidney enzymes were slightly elevated. When I asked if this could be the start of kidney failure she stated the only way to know for sure is to take an ultrasound of the kidneys. Because of the continued weight loss, the heavy breathing, the drinking a lot, the urinating a lot and defecating a lot I asked for a heart and abdominal ultrasound. Dr. Monica Mansfield stated she thought that was a good plan of action. However she was the same vet that thought sadie was ok to go under to get a tooth pulled without any of that.
When the ultrasound was taken by a doctor who is from tufts he saw what was the beginnings of congestive heart failure. He also stated he heard multiple premature beats in his notes. If I had went by Dr. Mansfield's opinion that if it was her dog she would be ok without doing an ultrasound or X-ray then I'm not sure what would have happened to sadie. The doctor from tufts that also did this ultrasound believed the same thing I did about the soloxine. That it was speeding up her metabolism too much. She stated to me that the internist at tufts told her that you can't only go by blood work you have to look at the dogs symptoms. 

After relaying to my husband and I that our dog is looking at CHF within 6-12 months maybe sooner -that's all she said. Stated no meds were necessary. Yet when another doctor at Medway Animal hospital had seen Sadie and heard the same premature beats she brought that up to Dr. Mansfield. Dr. Mansfield then states a few weeks ago that maybe sadie needs meds for her heart like an ace inhibitor. When my husband said well when the doctor at tufts wrote that a month ago you stated she didn't need meds yet. 

We then brought up that sadie was drinking a lot again and was it cushings not controlled on trilostane anymore or was it a UTI -she took a urine sample. States the lab sees protein in the urine. Stated if the antibiotics didn't clear this situation up, she might have the beginnings of a kidney issue. When we asked about the ultrasound showing no signs of masses and that they looked the same in size weeks ago she stated that it could be the start of kidney failure. It wouldn't show on the ultrasound yet- yet that's not what she conveyed when she initially knew I wanted to know what was up with the kidneys after blood showed elevated kidney enzymes.
She continually goes back and forth.
We have another dog that she first diagnosed as having a Luxating patella she even had taken the dog out of the room had another vet look at the dog and she confirmed they both said that's what it indeed was. This past weekend she was supposed to get an X-ray to confirm what was going on. Evidently my husband stated she thought she didn't need the X-ray because NOW it's ligament issue "she thinks."

When I spoke to the office manager who in my opinion is a joke at Medway Animal hospital she stated no one ever has issues with Dr Mansfield. Immediately on the defensive. Like I am going to believe a manager is going to tell me anything different. She didn't care at all that I was upset and concerned about all the different stories dr Mansfield was giving us, she kept stating dr Mansfield goes above and beyond and what doctor do I know that gives their own cell. (My own primary care actually does but unlike dr Monica Mansfield if he's unsure of a diagnosis he refers to a specialist). 
I took it upon myself to not only get a cardiologist for my poor dog but a endocrinologist that knows what's actually wrong with sadie. Monica Mansfield stated sadie was a tough case. Well instead of utilizing my dog as someone would use a lab rat, maybe she should have stated the best thing she could do for sadie is refer her to a doctor that knows more about these "difficult cases." 
The office manager was useless to me. Stated that the vets at Medway animal hospital are all like family and she didn't think that it would be prudent to have another doctor there take the case because dr Mansfield put so much into the case. And what was that? Wrong diagnosis, giving her a med that did more harm than good, not worrying about the heart. The weight loss. At one point she stated it could be ibs for dogs. She did such a disservice to sadie by not listening to my concerns constantly, by not looking at the heart sooner and by not referring her to a doctor that is skilled in difficult cases. The office manager doesn't care that you feel uncomfortable with the issues that arose / she was more concerned with making sure her office came out looking like they were perfect and that's not the case with the results I have now in regards to sadie. We spent so much time and money with a doctor and hospital who basically in my opinion loved taking us for a ride.

If your pet has many issues or you think something isn't right listen to your instincts - go to specialists instead and don't even think you'll ever get an apology for the way this doctor and her manager are- because they won't take blame for mistakes. Sad in my opinion to see how they can sleep at night.