Veterinary Emergency Service

Reviews 3

CA

Cali Bowen

We came home to our new 7 week old kitten Duckie very sick. She had puked, went to the bathroom all over herself and couldnt even hold her head up. We took her to the Veterinary Emergency Services of Madison Heights that is down the street from us. We rushed Duckie there with a fresh stool sample knowing that they would need that to complete a fecal. Veterinary Emergency Services wouldnt see her until we had the funds from Care Credit and stated that the visit would be a little over $500 which I immediately called and got the funds needed. Duckie was hypoglycemic and her sugar and temperature were both very low. They did X-rays, gave her sugar and did blood work all in 30 minutes time, never once did they complete a fecal and it is no where in her records. Since the funds ran out, they told us they could no longer see her even though she needed immediate care so referred us to Wilson Veterinary Hospital in Washington Township (50 minutes away) because they "think they have a payment plan". We asked Veterinary Emergency Services if they could send over Duckies entire file and let Wilson Veterinary Hospital know of everything that was happening so when we arrived, they would be able to give her the care that she needed and Chelseas (front desk intern) response was "if you or I call, theres a good chance they wont offer a payment plan however if you just go..they wont say no to it". With that being said, we took the chance of driving 50 minutes away with our dying kitten that needed immediate care. We arrived at Wilson Veterinary Hospital around 1am and they immediately took Duckie without even considering funds at the current time because they knew she was dying. Duckie was hooked up to an IV catheter with dextrose (sugar), got her temperature up and was finally eating! Since she was then stable, they needed $200 for hospitalization and the rest of the costs ($400-$600) would be taken care of when we picked her up. Around 6am, we received a call saying that Duckie went into cardiac arrest and they had to perform CPR. Also, they finally got a stool sample from Duckie, completed a fecal and discovered that she had an extreme amount of round worms inside her (she just received her first deworm shot a week ago). With that being said, if the first vet we went to (Veterinary Emergency Services) would have completed a fecal, Wilsons would have known about this earlier. Wilsons called us to ask and highly recommend putting her down because she is suffering so we both decided it was the right choice. When we called back, Duckie had already passed away on her own. They still dont know how Duckie died because there was only so much time but I am trying to get some justice for not just us and Duckie but for other pets and pet owners out there that have been through similar situations. Veterinary Emergency Services took our money in 30 minutes, threw us out the door, told us that its not their fault we dont have the funds to support our pet and recommended us to another veterinary hospital that was 50 minutes away. To save our Duckie, we took the risk. We had no idea if they even had a payment plan, we just trusted our vet and hoped Duckie would pull through. Wilson Veterinary Hospital took in Duckie immediately without even thinking twice about the funds at the time and cared for her immensely for over 5 hours (totaling cost was $250). So how does this add up? $500 in 30 minutes and push us out the door to a place who clearly knows what theyre doing.. Duckie was 7 weeks old, .9 lbs and was the sweetest baby kitty you wouldve ever met. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET HERE!!! THEY ARE HEARTLESS, AND DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR ANIMAL!!!

CA

Cat Uhrick

Last month I brought my foster puppy here after he bit through my computer power cord that was plugged in, to get examined to make sure there were no burns in his airway. I was told wed need an X-ray of his lungs etc and they would give him an anti inflammatory in case there was any swelling in his airway. Obviously agreed to this and paid $400 before this was even done. When my puppy came back he was all wobbly and whining from the medication they gave him. They not only gave him an anti inflammatory but an opiate medication (which I see no need for, for an X-ray, nor was it discussed. puppy was sick (whining, weak, diarrhea) from the medication for hours after we left the vet) The vet came back and told me the lungs and airway looked fine, but that we would need emergency surgery costing over $3000 because the puppy had a foreign body in his stomach that was "adhered to his stomach lining, looked like it had been there a long time, and was not moving." vet told me he was concerned this was a penny or a watch battery and needed to have surgery right away before it perforated his stomach lining. I explained to him that this was a foster puppy and 1. I would have to check with the rescue where I fostered him through because I didnt own him and 2. Already spent $400 and did not have another $3000 to spend right that minute. The vet made me feel very guilty about the situation, and that the puppy could die if I took him home without treatment. I asked the vet how he could tell the "penny or watch battery" was adhered and not moving since an X-ray was a still picture and cant get that in depth, and he gave me a very vague explanation. I told the vet I could not do the procedure. He seemed very inconvienced with my answer, and left the room after again making me feel guilty for my response. Later in the month I took the puppy to the rescue organizations vet (after monitoring him closely for behavior changes, etc), we did repeat X-rays, compared the two, and the object was gone. I was told by my family vet and the rescues vet that the emergency vet was way out of line and scared me for no reason because most small coins, or small foreign bodies pass on their own. I feel like I was pressured into something that was so unnecessary, and couldve actually put the puppy in more harm. Obviously if the puppy was symptomatic and the foreign object was not moving after repeat X-rays, I wouldve done the surgery. On a positive note the vet techs were very friendly and personable. I remember talking to the vet tech and apologizing to her for not being able to afford to do the surgery right then and there (I know...thats how guilty he made me feel) The vet tech could tell I was shook up, she gave me almost an embarrassed look, and told me "just follow up somewhere else just to make sure things are getting better and not worse, you dont have to do this here" so moral of the story just be cautious if you go here, ask questions so that you arent being pushed into something unnecessary. Also we adopted the puppy, and he is doing wonderful!

OL

Olivia Baker

The vet told me that my dog was treatable that he was dehydrated and that his White snd Red blood cell count was elevated because of pancreatitis, but that he just needed an IV and certain meds. They told me that they expected him to be fine, but treatment could take anywhere from 12 hours - 7 days. What makes me angry is that he didnt get treated for his condition until about two hours after we arrived. They even cared for a cat that came in after he did... which died. So the facts are we got there at 11:38pm the vet came out to greet us asked me to fill out paperwork as she carried my dog back and put him in a concrete Kennel. A few minutes later she came back up to the counter and told me that he was stable and asked whether or not he ate any Marijuana. We told her no. She asked us to step into a private room to talk. We discussed his symptoms. And the vet again asked whether he ate anything that he shouldnt have... she specifically asked if he ate marijuana. We told her no, there is no possible way. She went back to the back for another period of time after we discussed symptoms, but at that time the door opened and a couple brought in a cat. The vet went out to talk to the couple with the cat. My dog still waiting... the vet gave the couple the same process that we just went through... my dog still waiting... then the vet came back in and told us that a cat came in and needed help immediately and put the burden on us to okay that she help the cat before our dog. About fifteen minutes later she came back to us. At that moment Her first priority was to give us a break down of cost of a blood test $480.00 then she explained what a blood test would check for. We told her yes, do it. She explained that a blood test would take up to 40 minutes. We told her to start. So we wait some more. The results finally in, the vet explains the outcome and tells us that he needs an IV. We tell her to start to which she replied okay just let me get a financial breakdown first... waiting... now we have to come up with $1260.00 at 1:20am so we figure it out. Payment is processed and then finally my dog is treated for his condition at 1:30am the IV is finally started. At 4am we got a call telling us our Dog died. You be the judge of our experience, this is a fact based review, not a review based on emotion. The response given by the management proves that their first priority is Financial... NOT your pet. My experience was this exactly plus that they didnt have a clue that my dog needed help immediately, but thought that they could care for another patent before my dog.