I've just had my 9 year 10 month old dog euthanized there! I greeted my dog as normal in the morning and he was trying to throw up and was salivating at the mouth. We took him to the Lort Smith as we have before with other pets. Their initial diagnosis was he had GDV which I now know as a life threatening condition. The dog needed xrays to be sure and was put on a drip straight away. Xrays confirmed the diagnosis and I was given options. Operation and stay in hospital $4500. I asked what do the majority of people do? The answer was to euthanaze their pets due to the costs. They then advised that during an operation they can look at the internal organs and determine if they're good or bad! If they're good then the prognosis is really good. I advised to go ahead with the operation and if the internals are good continue, if not euthanaze my dog. I particularly asked what are your statistics from the operation, do the majority survive? This was a critical question I needed an answer for. The conversation became a little rushed then. The operation was performed and the internals were good and the report post op from the doctor was excellent. I advised my kids if he lasts a few days and we get him home it's money well spent as we get to say goodbye. The morning after the operation I recieved a phone call to inform me he had gone downhill and was struggling to breathe and now on oxygen. I asked if they could keep him alive so we could get into see him and they responded they didn't think he'd last very much longer. I then asked them to put him to sleep. We did not get to say good-bye! While $4,500 is a lot of money I was willing to pay it so my kids and I could say goodbye! I'm not sure how I feel. Would it have been better to have taken him to our/his vet who has looked after our 3 German Shepherds totally through their lives and only 2 blocks away but when you call can not get into see him for days! I'm sure the diagnosis would have been the same from our vet and he would have been euthanazed our dog with my kids and I there with him! We would have saved a lot of money, been there with him, bought him home and buried him at home beside our other shepherds!