Jason Headrick

The stress, sadness, and inconvenience that Dr. Headrick put me, my husband and our 8-year-old dog go through today is unforgiveable. We arrived for surgery and immediately paid $5,000.00 in advance for the removal of several mast cell tumors and cysts. The nurse who met us was rude, emotionless and aloof. First she tried to weigh her, but our dog is very particular about sitting on the scale. Trying to save her from the hassle of trying to subdue a squirming 77-pound dog, I let her know she just had an annual and what her weight was. The nurse then informed me that they needed to weigh her prior to surgery regardless so my husband pushed her into a sit position, and I patted her head and gave her a kiss. Then the nurse handed me a sharpie pen and told me to circle the 5 areas for surgery which prompted my husband to become mildly concerned and to be honest confused as to why we had to mark her fur. I have had many surgeries with dogs, and I have never been asked this before. In a nutshell, the explanation was that they have been burned before regarding this, so I knelt down and tried to find all her bumps and lumps amongst her dark gray fur. Some are large and obvious; others are very small. I finally found all of them and circled them with the sharpie pen. Then the nurse asked if she was on medication, and I let her know she was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease antibodies and was on antibiotics. I forgot the name of the drug but told the nurse I would call our vet as soon as we left and let them know. This prompted me to ask why she needed to know because my fear was that somehow, I messed up and should have told them this in advance and I didn’t want anything to stand in the way of her surgery. Then we kissed our dog and waved goodbye and left. Approximately three hours later, Dr. Headrick called my cell phone while I was in my office at work. I answered very happy -- thinking he was calling to ease my worries about the upcoming surgery. For anyone who has dealt with Mast cell tumors, the surgeon needs to cut deep and wide. For the next 9 minutes, Dr. Headrick grilled me and berated me for questioning him and his staff. I was completely shocked and assured him that he was misunderstanding the situation and that we trust him and Newtown Vets. He persisted and was hell bent on making my husband and I seem like villains. Finally, I composed myself and told him that we needed to move on and to please call me when she was out of surgery. That is when he basically refused to operate on her, so I asked him to return my money and I sent my husband to pick up our dog. When my husband arrived at the office, the receptionist readily refunded our money and he asked to meet with the Directors, who were not in the office. A very nice woman, Melissa, who is the office manager spoke with my husband and said she “heard the phone call” and that your wife was trying to diffuse the situation and move on. DR. HEADRICK RECORDED OUR CONVERSATION!! After my initial shock of being recorded, I delighted in the fact that my behavior could be proven. I was not irate or rude. I was professional and clearly confused as to the motive behind the call. I apologized if he thought we were being rude and asked to move forward. After 8 years bringing 4 different animals to Newtown Vet to a tune of approximately $20k, I can say I will never go back if he is still employed there. No customer, let alone a long-standing, good customer deserves to be treated that way. My dogs are my babies. I should be able to ask any question I want before one of them undergoes an operation. The right thing would have been for Dr. Headrick to come out of his office and speak to us HIMSELF to assure us everything would be okay REGARDLESS OF OUR QUESTIONS. Now my dog has to wait to get an appointment with a different surgeon. Dr. Headrick put his fragile ego before the well-being of his patient. All I can say is that I hope nothing happens to her in the meantime.

posted: 02/16/2024

Dr. Headrick was caring, kind, very knowledgeable. He operated on my golden retrievers leg. He is a wonderful doctor and my dog is doing well.

posted: 11/03/2023

Dr. Headrick is an incredible medical provider. I feel very fortunate to have my Goldendoodle be under his surgical care. I would give him ten stars if I could! Staff are also very kind. My dog was seen for Mast Cell Tumor consultation and surgery. Everything was quick, efficient and professional.

posted: 04/17/2021

He should have his license revoked.This guy is a hack.He crippled my dog with his neglect and after 12k my boy still isn't right..Stay away from this Bucher and newtown vet.

posted: 02/09/2024

The absolute best! Honest and up front!

posted: 01/12/2023