Emerald Coast Animal Hospital

Reviews 3

CH

Chenin Blanco

I would strongly advise everyone to think TWICE to bring their pets here for care. It has been a long two months since our family dog, Igme, has died in the "care" of this hospital. It has taken me that long to at least give this review without breaking down crying, upset and angry. We have been loyal clients since he was 3 months old, but we were highly disappointed in the last experience with the staff. My mom brought Igme in for vomiting and diarrhea on Jan 29th. Dr. Rockwell stated he needed to be hospitalized for 3 days for dehydration and possible case of pancreatitis/hepatitis. My mom calls them up on Jan 30th to check up on him. The receptionist who spoke with my mom stated that "the doctor is not in yet but we will call you when she does for an update." My mom told them to "please leave a message if I do not answer because I have to work another overnight shift tonight." Well my mom woke up for work and there was no missed call or message on her phone. So she assumed that everything is fine. Now its Monday. My mom came home almost an hour later than she was supposed to from her last shift. I then see my mom in passing on the phone as I was getting ready to go to work. As I was leaving my house, I hear a blood curdling scream of "OH MY GOD! NOOOOO!" My mom screams for my name and hysterically cries "IGME DIED!!! WHY?! OHHHH WHY?! THEY FOUND HIM DEAD!!!" Shes heart brokenly crying and asking the other person the phone "HOW?! WHAT TIME?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT KNOW?!" For me, I was not heartbroken initially, but veryyyy angry! Angry at the fact that absolutely NO ONE made an immediate call stating that they found him dead on arrival at opening. And when we finally went to the hospital, my mom basically rips them a new one to say the least. From beginning to end, it was not handled professionally. We were brought back to the office and spoke to Dr. Culotta and expressed how upset and distrustful we were. He praised us on how "were easier to convince about Igmes death because most people are in denial." Well, we knew that he didnt have that much longer since he was a senior dog. He would have been 13 years old in 4 days. As an older dog, we know that there would be more health issues to attend to, but one phone call...ONE phone call couldve changed the extent to how hurt we were. Then we spoke with Cindy the office manager as well and Dr. Erin Rockwell herself. Both Dr. Culotta and Cindy claim that this is a "learning experience for Dr. Rockwell." Um excuse me?! Our pet is not some experiment! He is FAMILY! The whole time my mom was expressing herself from a medical standpoint. Cindy and Dr. Rockwell stated that Igme was on IV fluids, but there was a pump that was automatic and a video. My mom medically counter acts that response saying that if a patient is on IV fluids, they must be personally monitored because if no one monitors for changes it would lead to fluid overload and renal/congestive heart failure would painfully kill the patient. But Dr. Rockwell did not own up to anything. She couldnt even answer how and when he died. Cindy was the only one who stayed with us up until we left. She refunded us the $700, but then they had the audacity to give us a "replacement dog" similar in breed. Like really?! Can we not grieve first?! And after a necropsy request, Dr. Culotta stated that Igmes liver was fibrotic and his bile duct failed. When we went back to pick up a copy of Igmes medical record, we read the last notes written referring to the necropsy. The notes stated a "poor prognosis" and that "neoplasia" may have been a concern. Well, my mom was NEVER told that. Working on the oncology floor for so many years, she knew first hand the pain patients go through if they have cancer. So we did not appreciate the lies that were written. We as Igmes family couldve made the choice to make his last few moments with us and made those moments bearable for him. The staff TOOK that right AWAY from US!

DE

Derek dyer

Cannot speak about the hospital, but I can tell you about the border and groomers. I have boarded my dog once and he has been groomed twice. Borders: I boarded him for a period of 1 week and paid extra for a suite. I forgot an item in the car after I dropped him off and requested to go back to drop it off with him. When I ventured to the back I found him in a small steel crate with no bed/blanket/toys. When I asked why he was in there, I was told they were cleaning his suite. I didnt think anything of it until I returned one week later to pick him up. When I looked at the bill it said "stainless." When i asked what that meant I was told it was for a standard crate. Then another employee tried to tell me that he was actually in the suite... Still not that big of a deal, my dog is a rescue and has been through worse. When he got to the car, he wouldnt stop crying which he never does.. As I was petting him, I noted he had abnormal skin tugor, his mucous membranes were dry, and he had other signs of dehydration. I pulled out a water bottle and he started biting it and barking. He is less than 20lbs and he drank nearly a liter of water when he got home. His urine was brown so I took him to another vet and was told he was in renal failure... Fortunately it was due to dehydration and he was fine. Groomers: Now, call me crazy, but I was very happy with the hair cut and decided to bring him back before I deployed to get a trim (I would clearly never board him again, but whats the worst that could happen in 2-3 hours).. Well whe I went to pick him up, I was informed they accidentally cut his eye, but it was ok because the vet was able to stop the bleeding... HE ONLY HAS ONE EYE!!! Not to mention the hair cut was NOT what I asked for, and it had to be redone. I say all this with the caveat that Pam, the groomer, was very nice and did inform me right away of the incident, and was very eager to make the hair cut right. I am not an overly protective parent, but I do love my dogs very much. In the two times I took him in, he suffered organ failure from dehydration and nearly lost his only eye during the grooming. I will not go again, but you can make your own decision..

A

A Private User

OK I have never been a fan of Emerald Coast Vet Hospital because of stories I have heard. Well now I have my own story! They are nasty and just outright rude! I took my dog in through the APL for a discounted rate (who can afford $300?)for his neutering and I NEVER met the vet, they pulled my dog back through the doors because he was scared to death and didn't want to go. Well I received a call a few hours later that he was ready and they told me he had a ear infection so I agreed to take their antibiotics and give it a shot. Anyone with poodles knows its hard to keep the infections away. Well when I got there I paid for the neutering, the front desk girl was RUDE and couldn't figure out what was going on. They lost his tag for his microchiping. When we got in the car I noticed my dogs nails were VERY short!!! I looked a little harder and almost all of them had quick stop on the where they made him bleed! I am in the pet industry myself and I just had trimmed and dremeled his nails 2 days before! They don't need to just take it upon themselves to trim dogs nails. So while I'm waiting for them to bring me my dog a couple walked in with their 3 dogs. As soon as they walked in the door one of them explodes with diarrhea on the front door carpet and the employees do NOTHING!!! they had them weigh the dog and it peed all over the scale and the woman MOPPED it! What a joke, that is not sanitary. My 5 yr old is gagging at the smell of the diarrhea on the carpet. It sat there for a good 15 minutes while people were coming in and stepping over it. Finally another CLIENT not employee picked up the carpet and pulled it outside. The lady then realized oh I need that diarrhea and goes right outside and brings in right back in!!! What is going on here? I just want my dog and want to leave! Now my dog has kennel cough and this is the only place he has been in the last 7 days!