Harford Emergency & Referral Veterinary Services

Reviews 6

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Kelly Bryant

I normally dont complain about a business. Actually, I cant remember ever complaining about one in writing. However, my first was the way we were treated by the Emergency Vet in Hickory this past week with my beloved Ranger Roo. We were very much a business transaction. It was all about the money. Not one ounce of compassion except from one young boy. They followed us around with a clipboard reading off charges. We kept telling them it wasnt about the money for us. But, they continued to press on until Greg laid into them and told them to stop. They snapped at us whenever we asked a question, didnt want to let us see Ranger when we asked and before we knew it they were injecting Ranger immediately after we made the decision. I barely had time to say goodbye to my baby boy. I sent an email to express my disappointment. They called me today to discuss what I "perceived" to be poor treatment. I said she obviously didnt get it and if she was calling to apologize, that was fine. But if she was calling to justify their actions, I had nothing to say. She continued to justify their actions. I hung up. Everyone has bad days at work. I get it. But, if you are going to be an emergency vet, you have to have compassion of some sort. That was the worst experience Ive ever had and I will never go back there. The worst regret I have is not properly saying goodbye to my boy.....They stole that from me.

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A Private User

All I can say is "BE AWARE OF HIGH CHARGING VET!" I took my puppy to Harford Emergency on a holiday weekend since my regular vet was closed. Money not being a true concern, I accepted the $85 flat fee the moment we walked in the door since our goal was to treat our sick dog. However, it became very obvious that something was wrong when I was ushered to a little holding room while my dog was "triouged for examination by the doctor." Never in my life have I gone to a vet and not accompanied my pet for the exam. After about three minutes, the doctor entered the room to basically ask me the same questions the young 20 something posed when I arrived. Before any real examination, (my dog was not even in the room at the time) the doctor discussed full blown blood-work, overnight hospitalization, x-rays every six hours and IV fluids. Oh, there was even the talk about testing for the parvo virus. When I questioned the aggressive approach the vets only response was that you could never be too careful. I had had enough and asked to see my dog. Only after waiting for more than ten more minutes and being asked to "pay first" while the doctor prepared my "discharge papers" was I given my dog and allowed to leave. Oh, by the way. My puppy is fine. It turned out to be a little bug. Something the vet told me dogs dont usually get.

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A Private User

NEVER AGAIN!!!! I could not agree more with the previous poster! We took my dog there in the middle of the night and when we got there they gave us two options: an $800 work- up, or a $500 work-up! WHAT! In the meantime, another dog came in and needed immediate attention. When the vet came back to us, she pompously explained how in the medical world some things are more important than others and some patients are more critical than others... We hadnt complained about the other dog needing attention over ours, it was obvious he was sicker than ours. Little did she know that both of us work in a major Trauma Center for PEOPLE and she was not impressing us with her need to feel important! Anyway, she said there was nothing major wrong with the dog and sent us home with prescriptions for 4 medications...1 hour later our dog was dead. We took her body back and they said, "What happened?!" They told us that nothing was wrong with her when she was there earlier. Well, OBVIOUSLY something was wrong with her or we wouldnt have brought her in during the middle of the night! So sad because we would have had her put down if we knew she was dying...instead, she suffered until she died at home. After the initial charge, they charged us again to dispose of her body!

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A Private User

The staff at Harford Emergency Vets was tremendously caring. This was the 2nd time weve used them. The first was when we thought our cat ate a Lily flower. They took us in right away, checked her vomit and determined nothing was ingested. Was in and out in less than an hour and the fee was very reasonable. Just a few weeks ago, our terminally ill dog took a sudden turn for the worse on a Sunday and we had to have her euthanized. The clerk was so comforting and gentle with us on the phone when we first inquired about bringing the dog in. He took his time to explain the process and costs. When we arrived he was amazing, taking time to again explain everything, making us comfortable during this horrible time. The vet assistants treated our dog with care and even picked her up when she was having a hard time. The doctor again explained how the process works and did the bad part. She was quiet, but how talkative can you be when this is happening. They gave us plenty of time to be with the dog before and after the procedure. The next best thing is that they did not gouge us for the procedure - less than what the ASPCA charges. I would recommend them to everyone.

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Candice Hofmann

I agree with the other reviews that this vet just wants as much money as she can possibly get out of you. She takes advantage of the fact that you are emotional because your pet is injured or sick. I also was not allowed in the exam room when my cat was being examined. I have never been to a vet that doesnt examine your pet while you are in the room. I was told it would be a minimum of $1200. It was also recommended that the vet do exploratory surgery on my cat which would cost $6000. Who has that kind of money to spend on a pet. I was seriously considering having the cat put down but then decided to let her stay over night. Big mistake because apparently the vet was going to keep her until she got the $1200. I think my cat was just in shock from her injury because they next morning when I called the vet told me that "Weve dodged a bullet" and the cat should be fine. DONT TAKE YOUR PET TO THIS VET!!!! At the very least I think she is unethical. There are plenty of other emergency vets in the area that will not take advantage of you. I only used this one because it was closest to where I currently live.

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Jenna Moon

This place has no compassion. A poor man was involved in a MVA with his dog and the man dies leaving his dog to be cared for by this place. Supposedly the poor dog had a heart attack and passed away. When the mans family wanted to pick up the dog to bury him on their property this place refused to release the dog until the bill was paid. They should be ashamed of themselves. Knowing that this family is going through a hard enough time and that they have reached out to the public with a gofund me page to help with the dogs expenses the dog should have been released to them. They are all about money and thats it. If you need emergency care I would suggest going to the Animal Emergency Hospital instead of this place. They dont even deserve one star.

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