Tufts at Tech Community Veterinary Clinic

Reviews 3

KR

Kristen Elisa

Let me just first say, I do not enjoy writing reviews like this. I try, at the very least, to give businesses the benefit of the doubt. I can also appreciate the fact that Tufts at Tech serves people in the community who otherwise would not have access to services for their pets. I also understand that veterinary medicine, like human medicine, is not an exact science & is relegated to the education & training of the treating clinician. My cat, however, was misdiagnosed there three times over the course of 5 months. They will tell you they are a "general practice" clinic, but it gets really confusing when they start offering you free ultrasounds by "Radiology Specialists." My cat was presenting with a heart gallop, matted coat, vomiting & weight loss. The first student vet said he had kidney disease, "that hed lived a long life" and gave him a prognosis of "8 months to 8 yrs" because "she looked it up in a text book." She advised me to give him subcutaneous fluids at home with a tiny 22 gauge needle. When she went to demonstrate, she didnt know how to properly do it herself. I had to look it up on youtube. They prescribed a Hills kidney diet and sent me on my way. The vomiting got worse for my cat on the hills & his symptoms were far from under control, but I trusted Tufts at Tech because they are affiliated with Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Big mistake. I brought him back for a 2nd visit because Dr. Grady said she wanted to perform an ultrasound to see if he had Intestinal Bowel Disease as the vomiting wasnt consistent with his level of kidney issues. First of many conflicting opinions there amongst their vets.They performed the ultrasound and she confirmed my cat had IBD because he had "scar tissue" & one inflamed "lymph node". They then wanted him on a special "novel protein diet". So they put him on hills D/D Venison (side bar--its a fairly well-known that Hills funds most Veterinary School research--its also a well-known fact that its pretty terrible & there are a lot of better alternatives out there.) I was told me to stop the sub q fluids--a lot of trauma, expense & stress for NOTHING. Nonetheless, I trusted them again. I researched feline IBD up & down, joined support groups and learned all I can about both IBD & early stage kidney disease. We all want whats best for our pets. The breaking point was the last visit there. My cat had been yowling at night & I wanted to confirm he wasnt constipated and/or had a UTI. The student vet said my cat wasnt really dehydrated & he wasnt really constipated, but wanted me to put him on lactulose (a sugar-laden laxative). He also wanted me to give to 150 cc of sub q fluids because the laxative would dehydrate my cat. This made no sense to me at all & I realized we were now at a point of just "chasing symptoms". Thats when I decided to seek out a second opinion at Angell Memorial. One Internal Medicine doctor at Angell Memorial had far more training and experience than 5 student vets and 2 supervising Vet Teachers at Tufts. The IM doctor at Angell hadnt even seen my cat yet and saw that my cats T4 was 3.5 out of a 1-4 range (so really HIGH, especially for an older cat). She also saw "heart gallop," "matted fur" & "weight loss"--called me and her hunch was that my cat had hyperthyroidism. Went it for one visit & my cat, indeed, had hyperthyroidism. Proper diagnoses is half the battle. Its unfortunate, but this is my take-away from Tufts at Tech. They are generally pretty friendly, but theyre overwrought with clients. If your pet has an emergency or needs VERY general check-up/labs, then they are probably OK. If its anything beyond that, please save yourself the travel, expense & heartache and go to Angell. I was up at all hours of the night, feeding a HyperT cat tons of Hills D/D, only for him to vomit again and again. My cat is doing much better now. Off sub q fluids. Off Hills (I feed him raw--hasnt vomited in over a month) and on HyperT meds. Good luck!

HE

Herbert Little

Two years ago I brought my cat who is 20 years old to have her back teeth removed they were great she went through with flying colors and she is still living today. Sadly yesterday I brought my dog who had chewed half of a tennis ball two weeks prior and started coughing gagging choking I brought him in to tuffs at tech they did an x-ray of his lung, belly and intestines. After a two hour wait he came out but Drowsy not able to walk good and they suggested we bring him the next day for a procedure to go down his throat into his belly look around and take whatevers in there out if that didnt work we were going to do an abdominal exploratory on the next visit. As they wanted Grafton vet hospital to review the x-rays. So this morning I called to review the x-rays and proceed with what they recommended well upon the student vet tech whoever calling me back said they had already booked surgeries and were not able to see my boy today. Explanation!!! yesterday they seem to want to get him in right away do this stuff because it was a long weekend and if he ever went into distress Id have to bring him to another vet OK. Today comes theyre all booked cant see my boy suggest me watch him and if anything happens bring him to another vet. When I asked about the spot on his lung that they had seen he couldnt even tell me anything yesterday he said he would consult with Grafton animal hospital this morning he said we dont know it could be pneumonia. You see an x-ray and you cant tell if its pneumonia so my boy goes home maybe with pneumonia with no medication at all what!!what !!!!what !!! why did I go there when they cant say if he had pneumonia they cant say if they saw anything in his belly or intestines so now Im back to square one my boy is sick doesnt want to walk and Im out $200 wow thats all I have to say is "wow" no thank you, see you later, have a nice day, will not be returning.

DE

Dee Dee

My first experience there was great although the charge was quite a bit underestimated. But dog did well and the surgery alleviated the problem with his teeth. Second time I go for yearly vaccination and physical. Again I ended up paying three times as much as quoted for this and that extra. I understand it can be a long wait bc they overbook. But dogs there were growling at each other, fighting. Just too many and too much stimulation. Student vets, vets and assistants really try and are nice. I needed to use bathroom and no public bathroom there. Went down road three times and there was no sign at Worcester tech stating there was public bathroom inside. I guess its a secret. I finally after many attempts found open door to access the bathroom and the school staff looked at me like I was a complete interruption. Never mind I had to bring dog with me. No public bathroom at clinic? Thats ridiculous. Walking up and down to school three times with all doors to school locked, ridiculous. If youre waiting 2 hours to be seen, dont they think someone may need restroom, esp elderly clients.. Finally staff from Tufts said shed bring me down. Seven doors locked, one open with no sign. Guess I missed it after trying all doors and even going around to front. Again, dragging dog into restroom of which he wasnt really allowed. Ridiculous. So ATM at school is broken. Was short of cash bc bill was way over estimate. They only take cash which Im not sending thru mail and dont have transportation to get there. So Im sending a check. Even though they cater to low income, we dont have to be treated as such