Category: | Emergency Veterinarian Service |
Address: | 13160 Magisterial Dr, Louisville, KY 40223, USA |
Phone: | +1 502-244-3036 |
Site: | bluepearlvet.com |
Rating: | 3.5 |
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Phillip Parry
Excellent service right from the start. My girlfriend and I had found a kitten meowing at our apartment door yesterday morning. It was storming and we had figured maybe she was trying to find shelter away from all the rain. We decided to take her in and give her a warm spot. We wanted to keep her. She had done fine earlier that day but close to 10 oclock that night, she seemed to start going downhill: losing energy, not eating, feeling cold, going limp. We tried giving her a warm bath and wrapping her up in towels only find out there was a massive infestation of fleas on her body. My girlfriend decided to look online for a 24 hour animal hospital to take the kitten to. We came across Blue Pearl and decided to give them a try. We had to drive one hour to get there. As soon as we arrived, Triage had taken our kitten (whom became unresponsive) before we could even blink. The girl from the front desk brought us into a room for our doctor a few minutes later. Doctor Cullman came in and notified us that the kitten was suffering from anemia due to all the fleas that infested the kittens body and would either need a blood transfusion which would cost us almost $1,500 or euthanized which costs $70 plus $35 for cremation. We already struggle with money alone and with the extreme critical state the kitten was at this point, we decided to go with the euthanasia. A nice man who was also getting his cat put down came in and told us he would pay for the euthanasia for us, which made our hearts swell with joy. Doctor Coleman also told us to not worry about paying the $94 fee that we would have to pay for being seen. We did not have to pay a single penny last night. The staff was also very kind, sympathetic, and patient with us as well as quick and thorough making the euthanizing process easier to cope with and to understand from the moment we set foot inside this facility to the very end. Never have we had such incredible service for our fur babies like we did with Blue Pearl. They made it even easier for my girlfriend as she was the most emotional with everything going on since shes such a huge animal lover, especially for cats and kittens alone. It broke my heart to see her feel so helpless and distraught from everything but with such caring staff, she was able to leave with peace of mind.
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A Private User
Its unfortunate that LEVS is the only veterinarian service of its kind in the area. In the handful of times Ive had to rely on the vets there for "special" or "emergency" situations Ive been mostly dissatisfied, frustrated, and insulted by their service. Dr. Jewell is the real deal. There was also an excellent vet there who treated my cat, actually called us back, and for no other reason that to see how the cat was doing. (As of Feb. 2009, she is no longer working there). Those two occasions almost resulted in my respect for LEVS, but it only took a couple of more visits to realize why I hate being forced to go there, and decided to travel all the way to UT-Knoxville for anything serious. Purdue vet hospital in Indiana is probably a better alternative too. A FEW TIPS TO PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR VISIT: (1) no matter if it is an emergency - be sure to call ahead even if it means by cell on your way there -- they charge extra for "unexpected" visits. (2) Never assume they will call you back with test/x-ray results even when they say they will. Dont bother waiting to hear from them if its been more than 24 hours -- just go ahead and call. More than likely you will be asked to leave a message with the attending doctor, who will not call you back until you make several more calls. (3) the reception desk is often occupied by aloof and inconsiderate amateurs who have no business being in customer service. Out of respect and for the sake of tact, I refuse to mention specific names, although there is one particular vet who motivated me to take the time to write this (which is something Ive never done before). I fancy myself a very patient, understanding, and downright nice human being, especially when someone is attempting to do me a service (especially especially when it involves the health of my pets) - but more often than not, I leave LEVS extremely disappointed.
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Karen Scheuerman
Bait and Switch My male cat was treated for a UTI by our regular vet about a month ago. However a few weeks later, this past Saturday, he was in obvious pain and struggling to use the litter box. Our regular vet was closed and they recommended Blue Pearl. As others have said, I dont like them taking my cat to examine without me present, but okay. The vet, who was very nice, came out to tell me that they felt he may have a blockage which is not that uncommon. She said she would work up an estimate to have him stay overnight and be catheterized and treated. An associate came out (the money person I guess?) and told us his treatment would be between $1,100 and $1,800. WHAT??? Okay - its a cat - we love him, but there are a lot of cats in shelters that need good homes and Im not about to spend that kind of money on something that may just continue to occur and have my pet in pain. I told them that they would need to put him to sleep but that I wanted to go get my husband first so he could say goodbye. I returned 15-20 minutes later with my husband and we reiterated that unfortunately, we would have to have the cat put down. She suggested that we try for a Care Credit card. I explained that it had nothing to do with not being able to pay them, it was more complicated than that. Suddenly, they found a $350 option which involved catheterizing and flushing his bladder then sending him home that evening with some medication. They put us through emotional hell. Seriously - we almost put our cat down because he got sick on a weekend and we took him to Blue Pearl rather than being able to take him to our regular vet who is very reasonable. I felt like the entire visit was a sales job so that they could see just how much money they could get out of us. I will be looking for another ER vet if we need one in the future.
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Mariah Romines
I went there when my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. I was actually referred to metropolitan veterinarian hospital but they were not able to fit me in in a timely manner. Blue pearl was able to fit me in. I met with oncologist, Dr Alstadt. She was nice and very Gung ho to kick cancers butt. But my dog was almost 16 and having severely abnormal liver enzyme results and had kidney disease. I was assured that she would test my dog to make sure that elspar treatment she was going to give her would be okay. And the other words that it would be appropriate for a dog with liver and kidney issues. They went ahead with the treatment. I found out later that everyone no its not to do that treatment when a dog has liver and kidney issues but I was assured that this would not be an issue. My dog got extremely sick almost immediately. Prior to that visit my dog was at least eating and enjoying walks. after leaving there she had neurological issues, stopped eating, have constant bloody diarrhea, was confused, wouldnt go on walks, and at times would not even move when she was laying down. I was told it would take 24 to 78 hours. I was told it would significantly improve her quality of life while she was still around. It never worked and I had to euthanize her because her deterioration got so bad. then while greiving I received a card from Blue Pearl signed from Dr allstadt saying I am sorry that she did not respond to the treatment fast enough. It made me feel like I was accused of killing my dog. I strongly do not recommend anybody take their dog here. They dont know when it is not good to treat them. My dog was not a science project.