BluePearl Veterinary Partners

Reviews 4

AN

Angela Noelle Martin

We took our very distressed 15 year-old cat, Emily, to VESCONE after an emergency visit to our regular vet resulted in a very dire prognosis, and we did not feel comfortable having her at home all night long without 24-hour care. The clinic is literally 5 minutes from our house, which is very convenient. We were immediately greeted by the receptionist, and a few minutes later, a nurse, who asked us a few questions about Emilys symptoms and then took her in for care. We sat in the waiting room for (maybe) 20 minutes, while the clinicians evaluated her. After the short wait, we were brought into a room where the night doctor, (sorry--I cannot remember her name), gave us a full update on Emily and remained available as long as we needed to answer our questions, (and we had a lot of them). She was upbeat, hopeful, yet honest, which was welcoming after our vet went as far as to recommend putting her down that night--(with all due respect to our vet--he was just advising based on his observations at the time, which showed my cat in severe distress, most likely from my emotional state, driving in the car, and her not being able to walk at the time). Basically, VESCONE has a system that works like a well-oiled machine. Before we left, we knew a range of what we were expected to pay. We were given our first update at 11:30pm that night, which made sleeping a little easier. Two more updates proceeded the following morning and afternoon. We were welcome to visit at any time, and just needed to call ahead of time if we were visiting outside of the designated visiting hours. All the techs, nurses and doctors seemed genuinely compassionate and knowledgeable of their medicine. If I had questions, I knew I could call and speak with either a nurse or a doctor for an update at any time. And now, 3 days after Emilys visit, I know I can call anytime if I still have questions. After reading several of the other reviews, I realize that there is a big financial concern with taking your pet to VESCONE, and understandably so. Yes, it is not cheap to go here, but I felt they were in the range of what we would spend for taking our cat into the care of a 24-hour emergency clinic. The peace of mind we received knowing that she would be cared for by medical professionals is priceless, in my opinion. We could have taken her to Angell Memorial, and maybe saved two or three hundred dollars, but the stress of driving there on Emily was not a risk we were willing to take. In addition, we had a nice surprise when we went to pay our balance, when we were told that we had a credit of over $300.

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Jessica Grant

I was expecting more from this hospital and was disappointed by the staffs attitude and lack of concern after my dog had a grand mal seizure for the first time with me. After he had the seizure, he was acting normally by the time I got to BluePearl, which I learned later is typical for a dog to behave normally within 15 minutes of having a seizure. I explained what happened and the receptionist without knowing it was a seizure and she said "Oh, it was probably just an adrenaline rush." The fact that she immediately downplayed what happened was incredibly unprofessional to me, especially given how terrifying and confusing it was to see him go from shaking violently to acting normally. As a receptionist whos meeting people who are upset and scared, she should smart enough to understand that downplaying or questioning what someone sees is only going to come across as insulting. The woman doing the physical exam made comments about how my dog was being stubborn, which really annoyed me after everything I had gone through that morning. It seems like all of the staff need to go to some general customer service training, because they come across as bitter and easily frustrated. The exam was very quick and they offered no diagnosis and only mentioned the possibility of a seizure. Their report was forwarded to my regular vet who immediately he said my dog had had a seizure and there was no question in his mind thats what happened. After getting that diagnosis, I went to a neurologist at Mass Referral Veterinary Hospital in Woburn and she seemed surprised at how little bloodwork and tests BluePearl did. She also immediately discovered that he has a heart murmur, which BluePearl didnt detect two days before. I was really shocked that they would miss something so important. I left BluePearl feeling somewhat negative about my experience, but after the neurologist discovered the heart murmur that BluePearl missed only days before and she seemed surprised by the lack of testing they did, that really made the BluePearl visit feel like a waste of time. I recommend going to IVG in Natick or Mass Referral Veterinary Hospital in Woburn instead if theyre an option, where the staff are positive, informative, and thorough.

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Michael Kolakowski

I give them 3 stars because I do think the service was good. The doctors and staff were knowledgeable and friendly. Facility was clean. And ultimately (most important of all) they took care of our dog. The downside: Price. This was an incredibly expensive visit. Almost $800! Here are the details: Our dog is diabetic and he was acting in a way wed never seen before (having seizures). We are new to the area and didnt know where else to go. And quite frankly not having time (dog having seizures) we went with the first thing that came up. Turns out it was extremely low blood sugar. Essentially, they put him on an IV and said they should monitor him overnight. This made sense. After all, what if it wasnt diabetic related? What if the blood sugar was coincidence? And for this, they charged us nearly $800. The only offer to help was a get a line of credit - which we cant do, due to trying to buy a house. So, now that Ive had time - I called our old vet in Nebraska. After describing the entire incident to them - they said it might cost about $200-$300 for a hospitalization. While I get that there are price differences between states (believe me, I know, we are trying to buy a house in MA!), this was just ridiculous. Think about it. Dog was on an IV and basically sat in a cage all night. Sure, they probably kept an eye on him and took him out and maybe fed him. They also checked his blood sugar a couple times. But - is that really worth nearly $800? I think not. Weve had more complicated hospital bills for a human that cost less. Needless to say, we will be looking into insurance for our doggie, but due to the move, havent had time. Recommendation: If you have time - get prices and go someplace else that wont charge and arm and a leg. If you do go here, be prepared to pay through the nose. We will not be going back here due to this. They got our money once, but it wont happen again.

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A Private User

Over the past couple years there have been several different times when I have had to call this office with questions/concerns regarding my animals. One thing has always remained consistant no matter who answers my call, rudeness. You would think that being a "medical" facility a little concern and professionalism would be the norm. That is not the case at Vescone. The staff is very cold and rude and the facility does not welcome the concerned pet owner. It is all very "routine" to them and the human element has been lost. During an emergent situation I was forced to bring my dog to their clinic (they were closest) and was met with the same smugness and lack of professionalism that I encountered over the phone. Additionally the triage nurse was VERY impatient and would not evaluate my dog without sedating her. She told me my dog "flipped out" when she tried to check her out. This may have something to do with the fact I was not able to accompany my dog for her exam. Had I been allowed to it would have been a much easier process. I decided to leave and took my dog to MSPCA Angell in Boston. Although it took an additional 15-20 minutes to get there it was WELL worth it!!! My dog was seen within 10 minutes of arrival (Vescone quoted me at least 1 hour even with an empty waiting room), and the care was wonderful. The staff was very courteous and professional and imagine this, no sedation was required. All my dog needed was for me to hold her during the exam. She was taken care of and released within an hour. The Vet took her time answering all of my questions/concerns and the cost was even cheaper than Vescone. I highly discourage anyone from bringing their family member to Vescone....Angell is the way to go!!!

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