Savannah Animal Hospital Inc

Reviews 4

KA

Kathy B

My dog has keratosis. We had been diagnosed at our vet in Florida. After many costly medications and visits, we finally found a wonderful cure: neo/poly/dex eye drops. I ran out, and called to ask Savannah Animal Hosp for a "courtesy" prescription, and was told that I needed an appt, which was understandable. By the time that I had the appt, my dogs eye had deteriorated, which was expected. Up front, I explained to the tech why I was there, and gave her a list from my Florida vet with all of the medications that had been tried and failed. Dr Clark then comes in. She says my dog has an ulcer (yes, I know) and she will not prescribe neo/poly/dex to a dog with an ulcer. I explained to her that this has happened before, and that any medication that was prescribed in the past for an ulcer, was ineffective, and that as soon as we gave her the neo/poly/dex, even with an ulcer, there was an immediate improvement. Dr Clark insisted that it would be "malpractice" for her to prescribe neo/polydex.. I was so confident that this was what my dog needed, that I offered to sign a waiver releasing her from responsibility. She said, NO. She wanted to prescribe an antibiotic and other meds that were on my list that had been tried and failed. She suggested we remove my dogs eye. UMMM, WHAT? You would rather remove my dogs eye than prescribe neo/poly/dex??? I then agreed to the antibiotic and went to pay my bill. The tech brings out my bill and Tobramycin. I explained to her that it doesnt work, and that I have it already at home. Then, I get my bill.....$72.00....for nothing. I asked to speak to another doctor, and was told that I could. I was then brought back into the office, with an office manager. This woman continued to bob her head up and down with a smirk on her face the entire time that I talked. She in no way tried to resolve the issue, and I told her that. I also told her that I did not ask to see her, that I asked for another doctor. She told me that I wasnt going to see another doctor. I asked her what she thought that my motivation could possibly be to ask for a specific medication for my dog, if I wasnt positive that it would work? Her parting words to me were, "Im sorry that YOU ran out of your dogs medicine." So, in the end, my dog was not treated, I am out $72.00, and was expected to pay additional money for ineffective medications. Thats what I call MALPRACTICE and UNETHICAL.

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JA

Jason Johnson

Our trip to Savannah Lake Animal Hospital was the worst experience imaginable... We took our 4lb morky to see Dr. Howard after being attacked by another dog (scratches / cuts) and he did the examination and concluded Milo (our dog) needed stitches and that he would need to be put under anesthesia to be cleaned and stitched up. We left him there and about 4 hours later we were called telling us he was awake and to come pick him up (around 7pm). My wife and I picked him up and he seemed out of it which we expected. We were told to keep an eye on him and to call if we had any issues. We took him home and he died in our bed around 230am that night /morning. The animal hospital, in my opinion, should have kept Milo longer for observation since they are 24 hour facility- that was never even suggested. To make matters worse, we requested a meeting regarding the incident. At the meeting we spoke to Dr. Howard and another vet I believe owner Dr. Erin Giebel. Dr. Howard blatantly lied to all of us at the table telling us he should have stayed the night there. Rather than taking responsibility for his error he implied it was our fault that we left with Milo that day. The owner asked what we wanted to result from our meeting and we asked they implement a policy to retain small dogs for observation following anesthesia, who knows if this ever came to pass. We paid a $900 bill for them to essentially kill our dog. I believe they used too much Anesthesia and just didnt want to tell us. Maybe it was a complication, but either way, he should’ve been monitored and sending our dog home to die constitutes medical malpractice. The fact that the doctor proceeded to lie about his recommendations and deferred blame after the fact made the whole nightmare even worse. ~Milos Mom & Dad

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KE

Kelly Brown

I contemplated before I posted bad review - I generally try to avoid it. Wish I can give zero star. My dog started to cough, gray gums, weight loss when I took him to see Dr. Richter. After 3 X-rays, 2 blood test, 1 fecal test and almost 2000 dollars ( 1800 and change) they still did not have diagnosis. They treated my dog for pnemonia..after failed treatment, more - stronger antibiotic for pneumonia was prescribed which contributed to more weight loss from throw ups..this went on for 3 weeks. I really wish I would have taken my dog to another vet from the start. Shortly after, I took my dog to another vet in another state, this vet identified dialated heart immediately, sent X-ray to cardiologist, after ultrasound...it came back as grim prognosis of heart disease..long story short, hes on right heart med and doing well. During 3 weeks of dealing with savannah hospital, there were few things that were disturbing..the way employees were tiptoeing around the doc, one employee mentioned they dont want to be yelled at when I asked to speak to the doctor about my dying dog. Its probably my worst experience with a professional facility. I since then researched symptoms of congestive heart failure ...it showed pale gums, coughing, weight loss as 3 of top 5 symptoms - if I can find this info in 5 mins on Google - Im concerned as to why they didnt pick this up! Dr. Richter in my opinion is unfit to practice medicine - looked like she has doing this quite a while also. Wish she would have put her pride aside and consult with other docs in the office or a specialist. Either way, I recommend taking your dog else where...unless you need nails clipped.

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BR

Bridget Jaspart

My friends dog stopped breathing in the car on the way to Rehoboth Beach. We arrived at the hospital about 6 minutes later, and the receptionist at the front desk (stocky build with short dark hair) showed no urgency whatsoever and was more interested in selling dog food to the customer in front of her than responding to my emergency. She had a very cold demeanor. I was finally able to get someone to come out to the car. I locked up the car for my friend as she went in with her dog. When I re-entered the hospital, I asked where my friend and her dog had been taken so I could re-join them and she said in a very snippy way "I have no idea. I didnt see them come in." You would think that shed maybe help me out and make some effort to locate them for me, but she didnt do a damn thing to assist. The situation was stressful enough and my friend ended up losing her dog that day, and that woman at the front desk showed no concern whatsoever. On a positive note, the nurses who took care of the dog were friendly, professional, and showed support for my friend. Hard to believe she has the job she does.

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