Angell Animal Medical Center

Reviews 3

ST

Stephanie Burt

I am very saddened and disappointed with this facilitys staff and best practices based off of my experience on Tuesday 12/29/15. I brought my 1 1/2 year old male cat, Wheezy in for inability to urinate, physical pain, vomiting. The vet told me that he was blocked and that time was of the essence and that they could not express him manually and to "unblock him" we needed to talk about payment and treatment. The ONE thing they did do right was give him pain medication right away, the humane thing to do. The veterinarian told me that she suggested the "gold standard" of care which was to use invasiveness to unblock him, IV fluids, and a few days stay for observation. She went on to explain that the cost would be anywhere from $800.00 to $2,000.00. I explained to her that I applied for the Care Credit and did not qualify and that I got paid on Friday (3 days away) and I would do anything to save my cat and I would be in on payday to pay my bill, even if I had to volunteer around the clinic in the meantime as a thank you for the generosity. Well, the vets answer was "we do not accept payment plans of any type, I suggest asking someone to borrow the money or call around to other vet hospitals, OR it wouldnt be inhumane to euthanize him". I started weeping uncontrollably of course not only at the thought of losing our familys best furry friend, but the fact that you would think veterinarians get their job because they truly care about the welfare of animals- not based off of immediate "cash in my hand or we can put your animal down". You can try and throw policy around all you want- but when it comes to life or death on the line- to say they cannot accept payment on Friday with my paycheck and to kill my cat is completely unacceptable in my eyes. I would consider what the vet said to be a valid medical suggestion- HOWEVER my cat is only 1 1/2 not 15+ senior cat. He has barely lived a beautiful life thus far. I called a local clinic and they didnt hesitate to tell me to bring him right there, time is ticking for his life, be safe driving (because of the snow storm) and we will work with you on payment because we want to save your cat. Now THOSE are people that care about the welfare of animals. Could I say the same about the MSPCA Angell West if someone asked? No, I cannot. I also waited 20 minutes to get Wheezy back in my care after the vet came in and asked for a status on payment update. The receptionist continued to tell me that they will bill me $150.00 for todays visit and BEFORE I LEFT I had to pay $10.00 for the pain killers they gave to Wheezy? Are you serious? I handed her the $10.00 and couldnt wait to get out of there. Thanks to a local clinic full of loving people, my cat is still alive today and making a recovery. I would also like to add that I kept my word and made my first payment to them on Friday, when I got paid- correction Saturday due to the holiday and they were not open. My bare minimum thought of this clinic summed up is- if you are going to turn away saving an animals life based off of IMMEDIATE payment, do NOT be an EMERGENCY clinic. Because, we all know, whether human or animal, no one can PLAN an emergency and not everyone has extra thousands of dollars lying around in the bank! PS. The bill was nowhere near $800.00-$2,000.00

AN

Annie Hodge

You and your pet will be treated gently with kindness, compassion and extreme expertise. The situation will be examined from all angles and if more specialists are needed youll have easy access to them. You will never regret the travel, time or money you spend there. In every case (3 for us now) your animal will be much better off than it was before you went. Years ago Angell Memorial saved 2 of our dogs. Last year in the late winter our dog Zoe saw Dr. Doug Brum and we were kept in constant contact with him by his incredible client liason Jen McManus. By his thorough testing and diagnosis of Zoe (a 13 yr. old Bichon) we avoided treating her for Cushings, which would have killed her as she had heart and kidney disease. As it turned out his wise prescriptions for her prolonged her life by more than a year, and it was an active and happy life. A couple of months ago she appeared to be going downhill and indeed she was. I spoke with Jen (who always calls back right away) and we went in through emergency the next day(because Dr. Brum was not in) and saw Dr. Starek who was very nice. She told us Zoes levels were way off, and that we could admit her or take her home. We decided that we didnt want her last days to be spent away from us in a cage so we went home. A day or so later Dr. Brum called and said he thought we could do something about the levels with intensive hydration. We all thought it was worth a try so she was in Angell for 3 days. We hoped that her levels would stay down but they didnt and she died on March 27. I am forever grateful to Dr.Brum and Jen for their compassion, willingness and energy to try whatever they could for Zoe. I know we had her for an extra year because of them and her tail was always wagging and of course she specialized in the "Bichon beg". I cant say enough for Angell and everyone I met there. There is something about being treated with kindness and real personal caring and a smile that makes a horrible situation so much easier. We are not wealthy people but if we did win the lottery Angell would get a really big chunk of it. We are strong supporters of our local animal shelter The Potter League for Animals which is a great place too. Thank you for being there and thank you for hiring "good" people. Also I should mention that our initial connection with Jen and Dr. Brum was through Diana DeMarco, who at one time was a consultant for Angell. Sincerely, Annette and Brian Pelletier, Newport, RI. Your expertise-it is unparalleled. Your smile, kindness and compassion toward me and my pet. You call me to update me and let me know what kind on night my dog had while she was there in the hospital. You explain some pretty complicated medical things so that I can understand them, and you answer all my questions patiently. You lay out the options for treatment with the pros and cons for each and help me make a decision I am comfortable with. You return phone calls--that is so important. There is always a human to speak with when I call. Your facility is clean and welcoming. Even the techs are special people--efficient and again so personable that we were really set at ease each time we visited. Everyone treated my dog as if she were very special, which of course she was to us.

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Kerri Vetrano

My husband and I are so touched by the kindess extended to us and our Kobe, by every Angell Employee. Everyone from the front desk, to the vet techs, doctors and radiation staff have been amazing! Angell has blown us away and truly impressed us! If people hospitals were as compassionate, people would heal so much faster! Thank you so much for working with us. We travel from Cape Cod so our 9 year old Black Lab, Kobe can receive treatment for bladder cancer. The vets on the Cape told us he had only months to live, Angell has given us hope for possibly years! We are 5 treatments into 20 rounds of radiation and 6 rounds of chemo. Which mean for a month we travel to Boston daily for treatment. The Angell Staff make that commute seem like nothing. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by amazing staff when we are there. Thank you so much! The oncology department is hands down the best! Dr. Talbott has gone above and beyond. She offered the Luna Fund and walked us through the Care Credit Card Process. She and Dr. Kubicek have been amazing and so accommodating. We travel from the Cape and they have done phone consultations, so we dont have to drive extra. They have been creative with scheduling testing for both Kobes comfort and our wallet. We truly appreciate everything they have done! Cheryl from radiology had been amazing too! She has given us the 11:00am Time slot for treatment, so we arent stuck in traffic every day. We truly appreciate this! Her tech Kate is always so sweet and kind to our Kobe too! Stacey the care staff for oncology is amazing. She is a kind, easy going and very professional. Her text updates when Kobe has been in surgery, have been much appreciated! We love the Halloween bandana that she personalized for him too! We think Kobe likes it too! Alana, Dr. Talbotts tech is great too! She is so kind and honest. She helped make a difficult appointment, much easier. Everyday our Kobe is happy to return. When we visit our local vet, he gets nervous and doesnt want to go in. At Angell he doesnt hesitate at all and walks right in! When he gets nervous, the staff as so sweet and comforting to him. Thank you to everyone at Angell. We know our Kobe is in good hands and we are so thankful for you all!