Belcher Animal Clinic

Reviews 3

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Grace Espinosa

After relocating to FL a little over a year ago, I was in search of a new vet for my boxer, Nica. After searching online, I found Dr. Kenneth A St John at the Belcher Animal Clinic & decided to give him a try since I didnt really know anyone here (my decision was based on location alone). Recently, Nica had began having problems with incontinence (bladder problems) & Dr St. John had put her on the medication PROIN. 2 weeks after starting this medication, Nica had what appeared to be her first ever seizure episode. Since PROIN was the only new med Nica was on at the time, I thought I should at least do a little research on it... What I found online wasnt good, BUT I always take what I read online with a grain of salt! Anyhow, I brought nica in to see Dr. St John at the Belcher Animal Clinic to to discuss what was going on with her, to get lab work done & to ask more questions about the medication PROIN. When he came in, I proceeded to tell him the timeline of events & I asked him verbatim, "Was there any chance that the medication PROIN could be correlated with her having this first seizure like episode" (Regardless of the accuracy of my claim, I didnt think my question was silly or outlandish considering this "seizure" happened pretty soon after). Immediately, the Dr. seem to get extremely defensive & nasty with me, saying there was no way the two were related. It was coincidence & that was it! (It was clear he had no intentions of either educating me or discussing in further detail this particular medications side effects, etc.) I decided to push a little further (after all... This was MY DOGS health we are talking about & as a patient I have the right to be informed). I very respectfully said to him, "But Dr. I have read some things online about PROIN that scare me so Id like to at least get some more insight on this medication. At this point Dr. St John literally tells me in the nastiest tone, "You clearly dont trust me so i recommend you leave & go elsewhere. He then proceeds to tell me, "You must not care about your pet if your going to take her off a medication she needs". At this point I LOST IT.... Here I was worried as hell about my poor nica who had had her 3rd seizure episode that same day & to be treated in such a cold manner was so disturbing!!!!! I told the Dr..... "Quite the contrary Dr... Im concerned about the possible side effects of this medication because I love my dog dearly & want to be informed about anything Im giving her". At this point I left his office in tears. To get to the point, I left there and went directly to another vet that came highly recommended by nicas pet sitter. When I got there, I went through the same spill & timeline & brought up the medication PROIN. LOW & BEHOLD, this vet had a COMPLETELY different perspective on it. She not only validated my concerns, but went above & beyond to educate me.... She told me that Nica was having what appeared to be fainting episodes (which can resemble a seizure). She went on to explain to me that Boxers have a high vagal tone & that Nica may be having some issues with her Carotid artery (which is responsible for regulating blood pressure) & get this.... THAT THE MEDICATION PROIN HAS BEEN KNOWN TO ELEVATE BLOOD PRESSURE, therefore it very well could have triggered her fainting episodes!!!!!! Bottom line, my concerns were validated, we were treated with respect & I now have a plan of action.... NONE OF WHICH I RECEIVED FROM THE DR AT BELCHER ANIMAL CLINIC!!!! Moral of the story.... Our pets deserve for us to be as vigilant about what we give them as we are with what we take ourselves & if a Dr has a problem discussing medications, treatment, etc in detail (which lets not forget HE is the only one with an invested interest in pushing certain drugs)... Than do yourself a favor & FIND ANOTHER!!!! DR ST JOHN is sadly an OLD, NASTY MAN who clearly needs to retire & should NOT be in ANY SORT of HEALTHCARE position!!!!!!

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Mandii Proper

DO NOT TAKE YOUR DEAF DOG HERE, or any pet that has special needs/protection issues. DR KENNETH HAS NO CHARISMA WITH ANIMALS OR PEOPLE: WHAT. SO. EVER. My dog ate ibuprofen and was throwing up blood. I brought him here on a whim of emergency because my regular vet (whom has never had issues with my dog) closed at 5pm. I called and I explained ahead of time, that my dog was deaf and protective of me if approached the wrong way and they said that they would be able to handle it, and that they would also notify the staff. THEY DID NOT. Instead, the vet assistant did not listen to any of the instructions I gave her, and as a result my dog barked and growled at her as I held him back. She left and returned with Dr. Kenneth A St. John who quickly walked in the room and walked out yelling "that dog is dangerous". I asked for a muzzle and put it on my dog and then left the room to try to explain to Dr. Kenneth that my dog does better when he is separated from me. When I entered the room and tried to explain this to Dr. Kenneth, although I wasnt belligerent, or loud, or even angry he said: "your dog is dangerous he attacked my assistant" (which he did not) "you arent going to come into my clinic and tell me what to do, you do not belong back here" "you need to go back into the waiting room or i will call the police". Even though i was simply trying to explain the best way to handle my dog for everyones saftey. He refused to let me speak, he belittled me and refused service to my sick animal and After this I had to scramble to find another vet open past 5pm, thank god I did because otherwise my dog might be dead all because of the impatience of one old white man who refuses to be told what to do even if it would benefit his own safety and his staffs. I will not come within ten feet of Dr Kenneth or The Belcher Animal Clinic ever again, he risked my pets life and spiraled my horrible day, into an even worse one with a full blown panic attack as I scrambled to find my dying dog another vet. I understand that my dog may have scared him, but Dr Kenneth was up and arms the moment her walked into the room and that is no way to approach a frightened animal, its hard to believe this rude and angry man is called "Experienced, knowledgable, honest and caring" on his website. He s SO far from it with the way he treated me and my dog today. Stay very far away.

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Brooke Hayes

I had the absolute worst experience here. I went to this clinic for the first time because my cat would not open here eye completely. I saw a vet by the name of Kenneth A St. John who did an eye stain and said he did not see anything wrong with her eye. I thought this was crazy because how could nothing be wrong if she would not open her eye. 3 days later I took her to another vet because that is when I was told to stop giving my cat the meds that were prescribed to her. After just a physical exam the vet I saw in palm harbor informed me my cat had herpes which she probably got from the shelter where I adopted her. I was also informed that the Neopoly Dex Ointment that my cat had been prescribed at Belcher Animal Clinic had the ingredient of Cortisone which suppresses the immune system which is the NUMBER ONE thing my cat needed at the time. Therefor the condition of my cats eye worsened from the Neopoly Dex that was given from Belcher Animal Clinic. If I had not gone to another vet for a second opinion my cat could have lost her eye from its worsening condition. I called Belcher Animal Clinic for a refund for the meds and the exam. The supervisor was very rude and kept interrupting me even though I was very polite on the phone. The supervisor refunded the Neopoly Dex but would not refund the exam because it was service that was performed. I told the supervisor I understood the service was completed but it was apparently not done properly because the symptoms such as her red eye and swollen lymphnodes were not noticed or told to me, and I did not believe I should pay for something that was not done properly or fully. The supervisor told me that it was only the OPINION of the dr that the Neopoly Dex suppressed the immune system. If you research cortisone this is a fact not an opinion so therefore because Belcher Animal Clinic is UNKNOWLEDGEABLE. I wasted my money and my cats health was at risk. I would not recommend coming to this clinic it is obvious that the vets do not have enough knowledge to diagnose animals or prescribe meds. I know that vets are not perfect and they have very hard jobs but if a mistake is made and an animals health was put at risk because of that I feel as if the clinic should try to rectify that mistake not give me an attitude on the phone and not accept any responsibility for their mistake.