Atlantic Street Veterinary Hospital Pet Emergency Center

Reviews 3

RI

Rich Cross

This place almost killed my dog, and then double-billed me for my trouble. My dog initially displayed weakness in her back legs, which progress to her entire body, followed by the inability to even sit up, with a large amount of drool. She still had an appetite, but couldnt lift her head to eat. I was referred here by my local vet, since it was a Friday afternoon and my local one was about to close. My dog was presenting symptoms of Tick Paralysis Syndrome, yet when I explained my belief and my dogs symptoms, they sneered (literally) at me. "What does the internet know? Ive never seen that here." Instead, they ran several thousand dollars worth of tests, keeping the dog overnight. The following day they still didnt have any idea of what was killing my dog, but suggested we leave her overnight again, to the tune of about another $1500. The first thing that should be done when tick paralysis is suspected is to give the dog a tick bath! (I had checked her for ticks at home, but failed to find it.) I couldnt afford the money, so brought my dog home to die. :( And then I found an engorged tick. I pulled it, and within 3 hours she was lifting her head up again. By the next day she was walking. Then we got the bill. I had failed to notice the over charges, because my mind was on other things, like my dying dog. But it turns out they billed us for procedures and meds that my dog did not receive, and they applied the same charges to both my credit card and my wifes. Yes, they double billed us. The bookkeeper was on the ball enough to at least call us before we had to call them, but Im still not sure to this day what services we received. Their intake process borders on negligence. They kept using the word, "triage," but apparently dont know what it means. Someone called in ahead of time to warn the vet they were bringing in their dog, who had just been hit by a car, but when they arrived, they still had to stand at the counter for about a half hour, holding the bleeding dog in their arms. The receptionist called back twice, but I could tell from the response that the med staff werent happy about it. Another dog with suspected poisoning was there over an hour before they "triaged" it. The receptionist was the only decent person there. The rest dont have a bedside manner, unless angry and resentful is a bedside manner. And the fact that they cant even get the paperwork right is a serious red flag. This place appears to be just a cash cow, with about a $500 minimum charge in tests just for walking in the door. Finally, a week or so later, we got a nice letter from this place addressed to someone else, but at our address. The "thank you for your business" letter inside was addressed to different people, with a different animal. I offered them help with their mail merge, but they declined. Do your animals and your bank account a favor, and go somewhere else. Or treat the animal yourself, using the internet. You certainly cant do any worse than these guys. (edit to add) @Jenn Bleth: did they check for ticks? Paralysis in hind quarters. (2nd edit) I see I received a weak platitude of a response from Atlantic. What, do they have a bot writing this stuff? How about a real attempt to make good on your failures?

A

A Private User

Do NOT go here! I had 2 HORRIBLE experiences, and several of my friends also had terrible experiences. I would have given negative star if I could have. This place does nott even have regular patients anymore - they only do emergencies. My worst experience: I pulled up to the front door, RAN inside to 2 women sitting at the desk(one was not doing anything). It was obvious I was in distress - I said "my dog is in the back of my Landcruiser - he is not breathing! My neighbor helped me get him in the car!" The woman at the desk slid a clip board over to me and said to fill it out. I said "can you help my dog first?! HE is NOT breathing!!". She sighed and said "well, we need a chart". I wrote my name & dogs name & quickly handed it to her. She typed it into the computer, and then realized we had been there before because she realized my dog was large and that she would need a gurney. She hurried to the back, got a gurney, and came out to my car. When they were picking up my dogs limp body she asked me if I authorized her to do CPR! Of course in duress I said yes but in hindsight it was too late. They charged me $240 for CPR - AFTER she made me fill out a chart, and AFTER she took time to type it into the computer!! My dog died. Cremation ordered thru Atlantic was $120 higher than thru my regular vet - exact same cremation company & exact same service. I took my dogs body to our vet Cirby Ridge Animal Hospital (they are awesome!) A friends experience at Atlantic: my friend works nights so she made arrangements ahead of time for Atlantic to monitor her dog after a surgery his regular vet did. She informed Atlantic that he was a bleeder (hemophiliac) & that they needed to monitor him. If he started to bleed they would need to give him a clotting medication. Well, they did NOT monitor him very well, and when they finally realized he was bleeding it was almost too late. They did NOT even have the clotting medication in stock-They HAD TO DRIVE to to Loomis Basin(20 minutes away) to get some!! By the time they got the meds her dog needed a transfusion & the medication. They also didnot have a blood supply on hand - they had to get it from a staffs donor dog but she lived close so she went & got her dog. My friends dog ended up going into cardiac arrest but survived. Her bill ended up being over $6 Thousand dollars (CPR, transfusion, & medications). A year earlier when I rushed my dog there when he had a seizure. Of course we were scared (my dog too). They took him to the back so they could examine him while we waited in the lobby. A few minutes the girl came back out to the front desk & did not say anything...then I heard my dog crying. I asked her what was going on? She said oh he is in a kennel, we are waiting for the vet to get here - she is coming from Orangevale. I told them to bring him back out to me immediately - that he can wait out here with me until she got there... ridiculous! I have no affiliation with any other competing vet clinics - I am only sharing my experiences because I feel I can help others by sharing what happened to me, and hope that it will help them avoid a painful experience.

LY

Lydia Ranger

This place is a joke! I took my four month old puppy, Emma, here five days after she receiving a Parvo vaccine. After waiting five hours, we spoke to the vet for 4 mins and then dealt with the vet tech for the rest of the time. After the very very very long wait, the vet tech stated Emma had a "faint positive" for Parvo. After the diagnosis, we were devastated and deeply saddened. The vet tech recommended that our puppy stay at the center for 3 days which would cost $4,696.67. Isnt that ridiculous? When we informed the vet tech that amount was too expensive for my teacher salary, they recommend medicine costing approximately $738.84. My family and I prepared for the worst. We purchased what we could afford, and spent $459. To our surprise, the next day Emma was running around, jumping, and playing. I immediately did a little research because Emma was not behaving like a puppy that was on the verge of death, which is what we were told. We were told by the vet tech that she most likely wouldnt make it through the night. I decided to do a little research of my own on what exactly a "faint positive" even meant. I learned that sometimes after a Parvo vaccination, dogs can have a reaction and exhibit signs of Parvo, thus giving a "faint positive" on a Parvo test. After learning this, and day three after her diagnosis by the vet tech, I took Emma to the center to show them that she is well and alive. I explained to them that Emma did not have Parvo and now have a bag of medicine that Emma does not need. I asked for a partial refund for the misdiagnosis. I was contacted by the manager and she refused even a partial refund. She stated the IDEX Parvo test that the vet tech used is 100% accurate. Not even pregnancy test are 100% accurate. Do not take your pet to this place. This center plays on your emotions and the love you have for your pet to get you to spend an obscene amounts of money. It seems, by reading the other reviews, that I am not the only customer who they have scammed. I informed them to read the reviews on this website. I am writing this, so this doesnt happen to you. Be warned about this place.