CARE Veterinary Center

Reviews 3

TI

Tina Barrow

We have been a customer for 5 years, bringing both of our dogs to this facility in times of emergency. This year, our littlest dog became ill. First in June with pancreatitis, then some elevated liver levels in July that she could not overcome. She spent a good portion of July at CARE both for checkups and extended stays. She passed away August 10, 2017. Throughout her treatment, each time she was released we were told she was brighter and much more comfortable. Each time she came home, she was worse than the last time. We articulated this each time we went back. She eventually got a feeding tube put in and a biopsy of her liver. Each test we were told showed some signs of hope and she looked like she could be treated - never a guarantee of full recovery which we understood. We felt a little lead on at the end, but honestly not sure if the doctors were just optimistic or were dragging us along for the money ride. Either way, we made choices and understood the costs and risks. What was the most upsetting part was the day she died. We brought her in a week after the tube was put in because she looked awful and completely out of it. The tech who first saw us instead of being inquisitive about the crusting around her tube - which ended up not having anything to do with her actual condition - was accusatory and wanted to know when we noticed this and why we didnt clean the area. Definitely did not come across as caring or listening to the reasons we did bring her in for. The doctor, Dr. McConnell, continued to push different tests and trying out a treatment when all we really wanted to know was quality of life as is. He acted a little thrown off by us questioning whether it was time to put her down. He suggested a change in medications, which we were willing to try for the weekend, and then pumped her full of pain medicine and we were assured by the same tech that she was comfortable. They handed her back to us panting and seemingly in distress - we asked again, is she ok and is this normal? Yes she is drugged up. We took her home. 3 hours later, after panting the entire time, she passed away. We brought her back to be cremated and were asked if we wanted an imprint of her paw made. One or two? We said one would be fine. Next morning, Dr. McConnell calls and acts surprised that our dog passed away. I respond, well she was in distress when you sent her home so Im not sure why this was a surprise. His response? Well, you were going to call your vet and euthanize her today anyway, right? I was told by customer service that he has poor bedside manner - pet parents beware! Fast forward, to when it was time to pick up her ashes and paw imprint. The paw imprint was nowhere to be found. Over a span of a weekend, we received conflicting stories - first the imprint was made but lost. Finally, we do not believe the imprint was made. And it wasnt. And we were devastated. We called the next business day to complain and ended up getting our cremation cost refunded. But, overall, this experience was exhausting and devastating. I understand my dog was older, sick, and nothing may have brought her back. That alone is upsetting enough because you love your pets and they are a piece of your heart. We spent close to $10K in 2 months, but were treated as if we skipped out on the bill. No respect, no sympathy, and barely any apology - aside from customer service. Lessons learned - this place handled a very sensitive issue poorly. We will never ever bring another pet to this place. The extra trip to a place that owns up to their mistakes and treats pet parents with decency, honesty, respect, and empathy is worth the extra miles. I will not regret doing all I could with the information I was given to try to save my friend. But I could not sit quietly and not share my story as a warning of bad bedside manner and poor customer service. I hope none of you ever have to have this extra stress and sadness tacked on to an already depressing goodbye to your favorite furry friends.

KA

Karl Sweet

This place is horrible! They over charge for their services, and take advantage of you during your time off need! On top if this, they have veterinarians that are not qualified to be doing emergency care. Specifically, William Smolski, who only received his DVM to years ago! Here is a summary of one of the worst nights we have ever had: This "Dr." Smolski is responsible for KILLING my dog. Had he not made several mistakes in the care of my 7 yr old pug, my dog would still be alive today! After seeing my dog earlier in the evening, and him not getting better after a few hours, we returned to their office, at their request. Once there, my wife was in the waiting room with our dog, who was having trouble breathing, for a few hours, before he was even seen for treatment! This is NEGLIGENCE!! My dog did not deserve to suffer for hours, due to their negligence! Now onto this so called "doctor". He cannot even read an X-ray properly (he admitted that), and he did not even attempt to call the radiologist, so that he could get his opinion as soon as possible, in order to help my dog! Considering my dog was having trouble breathing, you would think that he would have called the radiologist ASAP! Instead, without knowing what the problem may be, he administered a medication to my dog, which then made other treatment options more dangerous. After the medication was administered, we were told that it may be something as simple as throat swelling, and that a simple steroid could possibly resolve the issue. However, this was not something we could do, because of the medicine he had already given to my dog. This was because the steroids would interact negatively with the sedative that was already given. We were also told that a throat exam was too risky, because putting the dog under anesthesia, after the sedative was given, would be life threatening! So, do to the negligence of the staff, and the inexperience of the "doctor", my poor dog had to be put down. He did not deserve to DIE at his age! Especially at the hands of an inexperienced "Dr", who should have his license pulled! (He will have it pulled if I have anything to do with it!) Now my home feels empty, and my family is trying to cope with this unnecessary loss! How do you explain to a 9 year old that his dog is dead, because the doctor we took him to for help, was not qualified to do his job? Therefore the "Dr" killed him! So, now we have been charged over $700.00, and our dog, a member of our family, is dead! All thanks to this incompetent, so called vetrinary clinic. At this time, I am seriously considering a lawsuit. After all, somebody needs to do something about places like this, and unqualified "doctors". I will do whatever I can, to be sure that this clinic, and this "doctor" dont do this to another beloved family member! After all, no family should have to experience this type of pain, at the hands of this place ever again!

HE

Heath Dewey

Dont ever trust these idiots with your animals. Do you love your pet? Do you want them to continue breathing? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions immediately forget about this hell-hole. My 18 month old puppy started acting sluggish and vomited after every meal before he quit eating completely. By that time it was the weekend and our regular vet was closed. Since this was the closest emergency facility, we came here. Biggest mistake of my life. They took my dog in and did x-rays of his abdomen. They couldnt decide if he had a blockage and wanted to wait and do more x-rays the next day. I have no idea why they needed to wait more time. So we took him home and went back the following day (Sunday). They then did more x-rays and exams, spending unnecessary money before informing us he needed surgery. They said their normal surgeon was unavailable but the doctor on call could perform the procedure. We should have know right then to stop and not let these butchers near our dog. But hindsight is 20/20. We dropped him off for the surgery and were told hed be done in a few hours and theyd hold him overnight. They said the surgery went fine and he would recover fully and we could pick him up the next morning. I wish I would have gone to check on him that day because it would have been the last time I got to see my best friend alive. At 3 in the morning I was awoken by a phone call informing me that my dogs heart had stopped and he was bleeding internally and there was nothing they could do. They said to come in and give our last goodbyes to our now dying puppy. We went in and asked them to end his suffering since there was no hope of recovery. I sat in the back room and watched by precious buddy draw his last breath on a cold steel table. The doctors offered us no explanation why he had died or what happened during or after the surgery. We got a couple of hollow "Sorries" and then were ushered out into the waiting room where a nurse was ready with a bill that they demanded we pay before we could leave. I had to fork out over $800 on top of the nearly $1300 we had paid up to that point. Meanwhile they kept pressuring us to apply for their credit card so we could finance our payments for murdering our dog. Yeah right. I cant even begin to describe the depth of my outrage at our experience at this disgrace of a "care" facility. I now know that there are far superior emergency vets in Hagerstown and Leesburg. I would fly to another state if I had to, in order to not go to this place. Seriously, dont do it. Theyre awful.