Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital

Reviews 6

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Shaunna Costicov

Over the last week, weve had a terrible loss within our family. Two of our Dachshunds fought and one of them caused severe damage to the other. Long story short, we brought our Dachshund (Daisy) in and she was kept for exactly one week. Her initial prognosis was grim and, as a former vet tech, I would agree that most senior dogs wouldnt be able to recover well with that level of trauma with so many complicating factors. As the days passed, Daisy greatly improved and defied the odds that had been stacked against her. During her time at the hospital, I was given one of their exam rooms to spend as much time as I wanted with her. Seriously... I spent 8 hours in one day with this dog (Daisy is one of those special, once in a lifetime dogs for me). All seemed well and she looked like she was going to be able to come home the following week. I received a late night call, the one no one wants to get, and was told that Daisy had gone into cardiac arrest and they could not raise a heartbeat. At the time of the call, they were still working on her and I told them to stop. No one had any idea what it could have been and the veterinarian that Daisy had been assigned (Dr. Harriman) thinks it could have been a pulmonary embolism - unexpected and could not have been prevented. We had euthanized our other doxie the day before so the loss double loss was terrible. At the end of the ordeal, I am still very thankful to the extremely friendly staff and confident/qualified veterinarians. They were all wonderful and I witnessed, first hand, how they treat the animals in the back when their owners are not around...needless to say it made me extremely confident that I made the correct choice when placing Daisy into their care. I really cannot stress enough how wonderful every member of the staff was, how friendly and courteous they all were, and how everyone went above and beyond to make sure my dog was well taken care of and that our family was accommodated. I have absolutely no doubt that if I am ever in need of a specialist or ER services again, this will be the place that I go.

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A Private User

I drive truck and my Pom, Dakota, is my trucking dog. I unloaded at a customer and was leaving when Dakota fell out the window. I was only going about 25mph. She injured her back and could not walk. I found a vet a few miles from where her accident happened. He took x-rays and sent me to Dr. Newmans Hospital. I was scared her back was broken but after looking her over Dr. Newman assured me her back was not broken (I was prepared to get her a doggie wheelchair if needed). She bruised her back and the swelling was putting pressure on her spine resulting in her inability to walk. Dr. Newman kept her over night on steroids and fluids. I had to go reload a few miles up the road so I went to get my load then returned to Dr. Newmans office. That night I got very little sleep and probably drove his staff nuts calling so much. I surfed the web and found a doggie wheelchair to order for her (as of yet she doesnt need it). In the morning I was able to take Dakota with me but she had to be on lap rest for 6 weeks. I also had to help her express her bladder as she was unable to do it herself. She also had no control of her bowels. Within 2 to 3 weeks she was trying to walk and she was able to go pee without my help. By the end of the 6 weeks she was walking again had control of her bowels as well, though she gets little to no notice she has to go so she sometimes has little accidents. Today she walks a little funny but she walks! She also runs with no problem as she loves to chase my moms cats, squirrels, and groundhogs and she is playful as ever! She is like her old self again thanks to Dr. Newman. Saying THANK YOU doesnt seem to be enough for the miracle he performed on Dakota. Dr. Newman and his staff, who were all very wonderful, are miracle workers. I am forever grateful for their wonderful care of Dakota.

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keith f

Very poor handling of our situation. Paid for euthanasia for our dog, they took her behind closed door and after we heard her screaming they brought her out and said she will die on her own. What were we supposed to do if she lived another hour? Euthanasia is supposed to be quick and distress free for the animal. After they handed her back I insisted they euthanize her immediately. They took her behind the door again and brought her back a few minutes later with a catheter in her thigh. They botched that one up too. Said it was in wrong. Finally they said we will have to gas her and inject her heart. Very sloppy. One injection to the thigh would have done just fine. Ive seen it many many times before! I think they tortured a dying animal in the name of teaching their students. There are strays they can learn on, not peoples beloved pets.

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Loretta Carr

My fur baby Buddy was hit by a car on Saturday and received a severe head injury. My local vet recommended that he go to Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital in Decatur if he was going to have any chance to survive. We rushed him there but it was still several hours after the accident before we got him there, we walked in and within just seconds they whisked him in to be checked and started treating him. Now it is Thursday and we are going to pick him up this morning and bring him home! Ill tell you the truth I really didnt think that would happen and I am so very grateful to the entire staff from the Doctors and nurses for saving his life to the front office crew for all the care they showed to us. If I could give you 10 stars I would and that would still not be enough. God Bless you all

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A C

Took our new 4 month old puppy there. He had stopped eating and drinking. He was coughing, dehydrated, and lethargic. The doctor said all he had was bronchitis (kennel cough) and wanted to keep over night for fluids fr $650. That is on top of the $115 walk-in fee. We did not and they then charged us another $30 for not leaving him. They did sub q liquids and told us to syringe water into his mouth. Gave a script for antibiotic at Walmart. Next morning went to our local Vet who swabbed his butt and found he has the parasite giardia. Decatur did not do ANY tests. He has to take two medications to clear the giardia, one of them again in 3 weeks. Our vet also gave a b12 shot to help give some energy to eat food. He has eaten now thankfully.

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Chris Lazo

They were great! They saved my dogs life. She was on the verge of death and trying to give birth to 8 puppies. They were able to get her stable, and despite all odds, managed to save 4 of the puppies when none were expected to survive. My dog is doing great and looks like she is going to make a full recovery. I feel I would have lost her if it was not for the excellent and professional care she received. The emergency Vets and Nurses on staff were extremely knowledgeable and 100% honest which scored high points with me. I would recommend taking your animal there for emergencies. It is one of the few hospitals in the area with a Board Certified Surgeon. Thank you for saving my dogs life!! Lola thanks you too :)

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