BluePearl Veterinary Partners

Reviews 5

1C

1catmac

I have a feeling this is the kind of place that rewards employees by how many services they sell, because it felt like they were pushing the X-rays, bloodwork, overnight stay, etc. I brought my cat in Friday night because he was acting unusually lethargic. I was worried he may have been poisoned from a painting job that day, but they said to not call poison control until they saw my cat. After the half hour drive to get there and the additional hour for him to be seen by a vet, its a good thing it wasnt poison because he probably would have been dead. They did the initial exam and found nothing other than the vet tech said he was very sensitive to touch on his stomach. The vet tech gave me a number to call for animal poison control which wanted my credit card info for an initial charge of $60 for a poison consult over the phone. The tech recommended the x-ray and blood work to rule out anything else - additional $560. I was not allowed to talk with the vet at this point, just the tech which, in retrospect, seems odd. If Im paying for a vet visit, Id like to speak to the vet especially when discussing my cats well being. The X-rays and blood work took another hour. I then had a half-hour consult with the vet where she went over the X-ray and blood work. She found nothing wrong, yet she still suggested doing an ultrasound and/or keeping him overnight. I still had not seen my cat at this point and its been over 2-1/2 hours! When I rejected the ultrasound, I waited another 45 minutes for my cat. Lots of waiting. Youd think they had a full house. In fact, I was the only other person there. They had two vet techs that I could see, at least one vet, and two people working the front desk. All in all, I hope I never have to go here again. Paid $945 that I really didnt have, subjected my poor kitty to all kinds of stressful poking and prodding, my family and I lost the entire evening …only to have my vet confirm my suspicions the next day…my cat was not sick, which only furthers my belief that this group was taking advantage of my fear of losing my cat to sell me unnecessary services. I didnt even get the CD of the X-rays the vet told me I would receive.

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A

A Private User

My diabetic Siamese , who had been in remission, developed pancreatitis which threw him out of remission, led to a urinary tract infection from the sugar in the urine, and spiraled into diabetic ketoacidosis, which is usually fatal. He got so much worse so very quickly and my vet in the city took a look at him, ran some blood tests and said he needed to be at a 24 hour specialty hospital and referred him to AERC. He was near death when we got there. He was in there 5 or 6 days and it did cost about $4800 which was a bit above the initial estimate but they let me know when the charges were going over. The doctors and vet techs were very professional and considerate and kept me updated . Dr MacKenzie called me every morning and I called other times to check and I also visited and I only had good experiences of the staff. Starting the first night, I was researching in veterinary journals & vet conference papers to learn what was the optimum treatment for pets with this very dangerous condition, and I found that at AERC they were exactly following the recommended protocol (which is rather complicated with a lot of testing and adjusting of electrolytes, and things have to be addressed in a certain order) so that was reassuring. (and Ive since heard some very sad stories of other vet clinics who did not follow such a careful protocol for treating DKA and the pets died). Dr MacKenzie seemed personally very happy when my cat turned the corner. He said "youve got a fighter!" and its true . but he did not fight alone, I am really glad for the expertise of the professionals at AERC who pulled him back from the brink of death. With an extremely ill pet there is no place in the Chicago area i would rather have them.

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NE

Neal Levin

Why I walked out of Animal 911 in Skokie, now owned by Blue Pearl... The entire Blue Pearl operation is cold and wreaks of money. While Im far from a radical animal activist, dont let me dogs on the furniture, dont share table food and believe that dogs are dogs and humans are humans, when you arrive at a facility and neither the reception personnel, vet techs engage with the animal, then how would I trust them to care the way I would for the animal while in their care? Dr. Avril did a fine job on one of my dogs knees (TPLO), the entire experience was frustrating (show for follow-up x-rays only to be told that the machine went down the night before -- wheres the phone call telling me so to avoid the 30 minute drive?), techs who mis-reported the dogs status, and Dr. Avril who doesnt come out to discuss the surgery with you when you retrieve the animal (I really dont want to hear from the tech who wasnt in surgery). So today, when I went to Animal 911 with my other dog who had a lacerated lower eyelid from a scuffle with a neighbors dog, the tech, who didnt even greet the dog to develop trust, said that I couldnt come with to the initial exam. Hence, I left. I get a better greeting from my auto mechanic who has a better relationship with my car than any Blue Pearl vet has with my dogs. Looks like another instance of wanting to expand and be big before caring about the animals and the owners other than the fees they generate. Im going back to Dr. Hammer, who gets down on all 4s to greet your animal in order to develop trust. My dogs have never looked back when escorted by the techs off to surgery as they trust these people and I feel more comfortable that they care.

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KE

Kevin Cordell

Came home from work to my dog acting funny with a little lump on the right side of his face at about 11pm so I took him to blue pearl to make sure everything was alright. After examining the pet a young female vet came out and basically implied that she believed I had been abusing my dog. She asked if I knew anything about the bruising on his stomach which I clearly did not or I would have brought it to their attention upon arriving. Turned out he had a rare blood disease that killed all the platelets in his blood. I gave them $2,000 cash to take care of him and hopefully save him and 8 hrs later it was clear that the only option was to put him down. He was the greatest dog Ive ever had and died at a young age. Absolutely outraged that at a time like that a vet would make an implication like that. Would take my pets anywhere but here.

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IS

Isabella Marrero

We had a horrible experience. Our 4 year old Mini Doxie was not eating and just not being himself so we took him in and they did x-rays and the doctors conclusion was that it was his back. They said they did a "Nose to Tail" visit and that was the issue. so they gave us medicine and gave us instructions like us a harness, no jumping etc and to follow up with our vet. So we took him to the vet and they did not see ANYTHING WRONG WITH HIS BACK! They checked him and he had a cracked took and needed oral surgery. SOOOOOOOOOOO we basically paid Blue Pearl $500 and it was the wrong diagnoses they DID NOT check him very well because it was a huge crack! We ended up having him have oral surgery for a low price of $600 but he is now doing well. Dont waste your time nor money!

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