VCA PetCare East Veterinary Hospital

Reviews 3

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Dennis Alvarado

Prior to being referred to Pet Care West, we had read the Yelp reviews - which many were not favorable - however, being referred we felt we should go. Our dog had a small 1/2 inch growth. One of our primary Vets charged $50.00 to see our dog and referred us to Pet Care West Hospital so that our dog could "have the best shot at treatment". FIRST RED FLAG: came when I initially called to sch. the Vet appt at Pet Care West. After describing what our dog had and saying he was "referred by our Vet" - the scheduler for that Surgeon actually said "and you might want to not give your dog any food or water the night before in case u decide to have his surgery that same day as your initial consultation". I said "why would we do that? BEFORE any lab work comes in from the Lab and any blood work comes in to tell us exactly what he has..that makes no sense" Yes - thats right - this scheduler was ready to book our dog in for surgery for THAT SAME EXACT DAY as being initially seen by the Surgeon. Rush to charge $$ - of course. Consultation with the Soft Tissue Surgeon who said he must have a number of tests first: Super Chem $130.00, Cytology (needle aspiration) $125.50 = not to mention his own "Consultation" fee - the entire bill for the initial consultation came to almost $400.00. When the Surgeon called with the lab results on Tuesday of this week, we asked "what other possible alternatives would there be to surgery"? We were told "that is actually good thinking to think along those alternative lines - I will have our Radiologist Doctor call you today just to discuss radiation therapy etc". By 5:30 pm, no call had come in from his Associate. 2nd RED FLAG: I called Pet Care West to ask when we could expect a call and was told "Have you had a "consultation" with the radiologic Doctor"? I said none needed - he was literally just seen 72 hours ago and your Surgeon said that Doctor would simply give us a call to discuss that option. I was then told that "even for a phone consult, it would be $125.00" - For a simple phone call that would probably last 10 minutes - tops! The front desk scheduler did say "We hear that alot" - when I protested and said "thats outrageous". I have never written a "Yelp" review before - but - this situation begged for a review. Let me be perfectly clear here: My husband and I would NEVER take our dogs to Pet Care East, West, North or South. They should also consider changing their Company name to "Pet Care we$t". We and anyone reading this should never consider bringing their pet, emergency or no, to this money/big profit first driven Organization. We - of course - dont want our pet being operated on with only one objective - not to cure with care in mind first and foremost - but to drive the price up - much like a meter running on a taxicab, which is a very close scenario of exactly what they do. He will have his operation - by a Vet who cares about our pet - not the dollar signs. The many money issue complaints we originally read on Yelp are unfortunately valid as I lived to see it for myself.

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Tenzin Gyaltsen

Ive been taking my kitty to Pet care on Fulton for some time now, Im impressed by the doctors and I trust them.....But recently I had a horrible visit, one which may lead me to NEVER return again. We took one of our new born kittys in because she was in pain, 2 hours later we where told we essentially had to "put her down". I trust this diagnosis, I believe the doctor. All the doctors and nurses I have seen in the past, I believe. But during our last visit, we where forced to pay a deposit of half now half after treatment.... Fine. I think they wanted to make sure we didnt pull a fast one. Had any one looked at our file and not the fact that we are a "younger" (like a 31 year is young) couple, they would have know we are and have been long term customers. After paying a deposit, we where then charged for the full amount of the visit + deposit. An over charge of 130 bucks......Fine. I called them on it, they said theyd get back to me 5 days later as their accountant wouldn;t be in till then, then they called me back 2 hours later asking for my cc # again. Thats just a human mistake. My problem is this.. Our favorite new born kitten was being "put to sleep" and the moment that the venom was pumped into her, her eyes slowly start to glisten over and her last breath is being exhaled, in the arms of my crying girlfriend, with me leaning over her little kitty body, tears welling up. The front counter lady comes in and asks for full payment . I hand her my cc with a glaze of tears covering my vision and she proceeds to over charge me 130 bucks. Its a human error, to over charge. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth to think about the last moment of little Shortys life, being interupted by the front counter ladys distrust of a regular couple of customers. That at such a emotionally stressfull moment I would be confronted by some blond chick asking me for money and a signaure, which was redundant as I had already signed the "kill the kitten paper work with the doctor. Dont trust all the post they have their corporation put up about their great service, Ive had better customer service from a chevron automatic car wash.

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Kari Morrissey

My 15 year old dog had an intestinal blockage. First vet that treated him at PetCare agreed with me that having the surgery may not be a good idea due to his age. It might be time to let him go. They decided to monitor his condition. The next day another vet treating him at PetCare encouraged me to have the surgery. I loved this dog with all my heart and it wasnt hard to give me hope and get me to agree to the surgery. Another vet at PetCare performed the surgery. The surgeon called me after the surgery and said it went well but it was very difficult and complicated and he wasnt out of the woods yet. This was the last time an actual veterinarian spoke to me. About 4 hours after the surgery a technician called me and told me my dog was having complications and was in a lot of pain and they wanted to pursue a number of treatments all of which I authorized. I told this technician that I needed someone to call me if they thought he wasnt going to make it so I could be there for the euthanasia (I live an hour away). He said he would call me if there was a change in his condition. In retrospect I think they knew at this time that he likely wasnt going to make it but simply didnt tell me that. About 9 hours later (at 7 am) the same technician called me and said that my dog wasnt going to make it. I told him I would be there in an hour to put him down. He said he wasnt going to make it that long and I should let them do it. I did that and went to see him one last time (after he had been euthanized). The surgeon has never called me to discuss what happened, what complications killed my dog or simply to express his condolences. I dont think anyone at PetCare is responsible for my dogs death. I think the second vet who encouraged me to go forward with the surgery may have done it for financial reasons (total bill was 7K). The worst part of it is that I wasnt able to be with my friend of 15 years when he died because some technician didnt call me in time as I requested when it became apparent that he was not going to survive. This has truly broken my heart.