Gateway Veterinary Clinic

Reviews 3

DA

Daniella Zuccheri

My family just had a horrible experience with this clinic and well never go back because of it. My dog has had diarrhea and been vomiting on a regular basis for the last couple weeks and weve put him on a super bland diet but it just kept getting worse. We had brought in a stool sample to see if he possibly had a parasite, but we never received any feedback. We called to see if the results had come in yet and they informed us that they didnt call if results were negative! What a terrible policy! So Im just supposed to sit there and assume that something didnt get lost in the paperwork, or someone didnt just forget to call? "No news is good news" is not the kind of thing you need for someone who is worried about a sick pet. I want to know whats wrong with my dog. This means I need to know what ISNT wrong with my dog too! Well, on top of this, my dog was put on antibiotics, but he seemed to just be getting worse. So we called again to speak to Dr. Centola (a little before 11am), and were told she was busy. Which is fine, so we left a message to have her call us back as soon as possible. More than two hours later (a bit after 1pm now) we still hadnt heard anything, so we called back, because again, my dog is getting worse, youd think that would warrant a phone call. We finally got Dr. Centola on the phone and instead of just informing us of what was going on with our dog, she proceeded to question us on whether the receptionist had told us she was busy. She asked when we called and we said 11 and she actually LAUGHED and said she was on her lunch break then til now. A TWO HOUR LUNCH BREAK??? Im sorry, but A) nobody needs that long of a lunch, and B) when you are in the kind of job where you are dealing with peoples loved ones, yes pets included, if someone calls saying their pet is getting WORSE, you freaking call back to speak to them. Doctors speak to their patients when something is getting worse, the same should apply for vets. Dr. Centola was so incredibly arrogant, practically reprimanding my mother about the fact that "Well, I need to take a lunch". Unbelievable. And after all of that, we didnt even get any information about what to do with our dog! She just hung up because she had to go into an exam room. Weve had dogs our entire lives, were not new to the concept of vet offices being busy, but the sheer disregard and lack of concern for our animal and the blatant disrespect with which Dr. Centola spoke to us was just staggering. For years weve gone to Danada Veterinary Hospital in Wheaton and had the most wonderful interactions with their staff, very caring, always a phone call away if something happens. But Gateway is a disgrace. I know Dr. Centola only received her degree last year, so I dont know if this is simply her lack of experience showing, or if she just truly doesnt really care about our pet, but I would never want someone who so clearly doesnt actually give a damn anywhere near my pet again. Maybe the other vets at the clinic arent like this, but thanks to Dr. Centola, were not even going to try to see. And in case anyone at Gateway is reading this, my dog, who we said was getting worse but you did nothing to help us with? He had to go to the emergency vet that same night because his temperature spiked to 105. So thanks for all your help.

KA

Kari Walch

I went to this clinic about a year ago to take mine and my boyfriends cat, Trip. I didnt even think to write a review about this place until I had taken my cat to yet another bad clinic, but not near as bad as this one. I dont mean generally, either. I wish I remembered the vets name. (hopefully she got fired, or has better people skills, or even decided to actually care about the animals rather than getting paid). Thats what it was like for MY experience, at least.. Trip was vomiting and not acting like himself. I had called this place, and the receptionist was very sweet, and understanding, So far, so good. When his appointment time arrived, I took trip into his exam room, and the vet seemed caring, but she kept questioning my answers to her questions- if that makes any sense. Very rude tone. Very rude to me. I understand she needed to get the full details of what happened to him. I told her all I knew- "Trip had started vomiting a couple days ago, and he is just not getting better, so I want to know if he had swallowed something or maybe his body is rejecting the cat food?" We went on from there- She took X-rays, and saw a "foreign" object in his stomach. Personally, I didnt see it myself, but she was the vet. She insisted on doing surgery on Trip, and my boyfriend and I were living in an apartment, not making a lot of money. enough for bills, and what we absolutely needed. We hadnt starting saving yet. I told her that, and she literally looked at me as if I was the size of an ant. She then left the room, and I had to sit in there for 15 minutes and wait for her to give me further instructions on what to do regarding Trip. She didnt have time to tell me what to do, she had the receptionist be her messenger girl. She was going to make an appointment for Trips surgery, and I told her I needed to talk to my boyfriend about it (he was at work, and he was the one mostly paying for the visit, the x-rays etc..) and that we needed a day to think it over. Her receptionist relayed the information to the vet. The very nice receptionist told me the vet told her that "if you dont let me do the surgery, your cat is going to die". I was awestruck. Needless to say, I left. I was in no position to condone surgery. Trip was dehydrated, from vomiting. His cat food was stale, and that was the reason behind the puking. The following day he was perfectly fine. He did not need surgery whatsoever. I wish I remembered her name. She was absolutely AWFUL. I dont like to judge people. She might be a great vet, but she was awful on the day of my visit. Rude, seemed like she had better things to do. I just speak for her individually. Everyone else I talked to was awesome, and really loved their jobs. BUT because of her, I will never set foot in this clinic again. She can thank herself for that. I will definitely tell people of my experience there as well.

JE

Jeffrey Wray

My pup broke his leg. He was initially seen by Dr. Bianucci. She did a good job setting it (and showed us the x-rays). We came back two weeks later for his scheduled follow-up and saw Dr. Hooper (I dont know why they changed us). She said the leg looked good but the other doc had bandaged/splinted it wrong because it was pulling on the fracture (why say that?). Came in today and his leg is dangling because Dr. Hooper did it wrong. Dr. Bianucci said Dr. Hooper did not thoroughly read the notes as to why it was bandaged the way it originally was. UPDATE- The two vets and the practice owner conferred and admitted the mistake. The owner said they need to make things right. My dog has received laser treatments 3x/week and x-ray each week at no charge. Hes on the mend without surgery. Thank you for stepping up and doing the right thing.