Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas

Reviews 3

SC

scott ross

My dog lacerated her foot on a piece of tin on a Saturday. We called several vets and eventually made a decision to take her to VSH for her medical needs. This was a bad mistake and a costly one as well. The vet gave us options and we took the preferred one and the most expensive one as well. It took them almost 5 hours to stitch her up. They called and said that the procedure went very well with no problems and very successful I went to pick her up and found otherwise. I waited in the lobby for approximately 15 minutes when the vet that did the procedure finally came out to speak to me. He advised that when they went to get my dog out of the kennel, something caused her foot to start bleeding again. He advised that the wound swelled some and could not explain what caused it to start bleeding again. He went on to advise that if he had to re visit the wound with another diagnosis, we would be at "ground zero again" as far as paying for the procedure again. He went on to recommend that he wrap the wound and see if that would stop the bleeding. If not, I could simply bring her back and pay for him to re-do what he had done. The price would be about the same. So lets see what we paid for. My dog is bleeding from a cut when I arrive. A quote of $750.00 to $800.00 to stitch and "stop" the bleeding. Required payment up front before bleeding could be stopped. A call stating that it was a successful procedure. Once I arrived to pick her up, my dog is still bleeding. Another recommendation to "wrap" the wound to see if it would stop the bleeding. If not, simply come back and pay again to get it diagnosed and procedure re-done. I am wondering what I paid for. I still have a dog that is bleeding. The main thing that set me off was the fact that once the vet could not convince me that I needed to re-pay, he was upset and showed no concern for my pet. He walked by the nurse that was trying to get my dog to come to the front and left her and I there to try to get my traumatized dog to my vehicle. He knew she was an abused rescue and was very traumatized. He would not even stay to at least hold the door for me to pick up a 55 pound dog with a cone collar and her medicines to get her to my vehicle. Thank God for the concerned patrons in the lobby for assisting me with the doors so I could leave this very incompetent and non-caring place called a vet hospital. They are only concerned about money and dont even have the skills to suture a cut and make it stop bleeding. They will always bring up the cost though and get payment up front. The wait staff deserve a 5 star review but the vet and those tasked with the actual medical end would do this industry a service by trying something else for a profession. I even called back to ask some questions about how to care for her since that too was not passed on to me as I was trying to carry my dog out to the car. Of course the wait staff was kind and passed on the information but did ask me for $7.00 more dollars to pay for the bill. Try anywhere but here for your pet needs. By the way, this was over 15 hours ago and my dog is still bleeding this morning. We will visit a competent and concerned vet as soon as possible and re-pay them to take care of our pet.

A

A Private User

VSH is an expensive vet specialty hospital that cares more about their bottomline than the pet or the owner. If you allow VSH to diagnose your pet, be prepared to spend at least $2K for any initial service and upwards of $10K+ for cancer treatments. Also, be advised that VSH will not look at any animal unless the owner has cash/check/credit card in hand to cover the full amount. I heard them suggest to one pet owner that maybe she could borrow money from a friend or family member or get a line of credit if she has a house, because they werent going to look at her pet if she couldnt pay them immediately. One ultrasound costs approximately $500 - $600. During a course of treatment your VSH oncologist will likely want to do 2 or more ultrasounds, even when your pet is terminal. In my case, the oncologists quote for a chemo treatment was incorrect by over $200 per treatment, which I found out when I went to pay for the first treatment and was shocked that the bill was so much higher than what he had quoted me that day. When asked why his estimate was much lower, he played dumb like he didnt realize what the cost of treatment would actually be. Give me a break! As for care and feeding of the owner, I didnt appreciate the dismissive and flippant attitude or the rush out the door. Heres the sad reality: if your pet has an aggressive internal cancer affecting one or more organs, they are going to die. Maybe youll get a few months time, if youre very lucky. This is the hardest thing to come to terms with because you love your pet and want the best for him/her. You have to determine if spending thousands of dollars for what may amount to a month or two or three extra is worth it. You need to take into account the stress your pet may endure going through treatments for what might be little to no gain and weigh that against not doing treatments. You need to consider the financial impact treating an illness at VSH will have on you/your family. You need to understand the actual statistics of the illness your pet faces and do your research. The data is out there. VSH is not the only specialty vet hospital in town. As I said before: do your homework. I wish I had gone to NCSU for a consult. And the final insult: after spending thousands of dollars on treatments for my pet, which unfortunately didnt work, VSH didnt even bother to call or send a sympathy card when my pet died. Is that the kind of compassionate care and level of service youd expect from a top notch, state-of-the-art vet practice? Nope, not even close.

AN

Anthony Wilson

VSH recently performed surgery for my English Bulldog and his prolapsed urethra. After 2 emergent trips to my local emergency clinic for major bleeding I had very little option in terms of long term non-surgical treatments. I was referred by 2 different vets as my primary care vet could not perform this type of specialty surgery. So my review is as follows for my first impression: Appointment: My Bully was seen on a Tuesday and scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. Calling last minute and getting an appointment was easy. They got me in right away. No issues there. VSH Staff: I see nothing to make a negative comment about. Everyone from the front desk to the Surgery Staff was professional, kind, and courteous. The Dr. was knowledgeable in the procedure and told me all the pre-op and post-op treatment instructions for my bully. She presented options and information as it pertains to my bullys condition. In addition, they all greeted my dog by means of petting or talking. Thumbs up. Surgery: I dropped my bully off in the morning. VSH staff called me prior to and after the surgery. I decided to keep him over night for observation. I called the next morning prior to opening and they answered all my questions regarding his overnight stay. Thumbs up. Cost: I was prepared mentally for a big bill. I have a special breed dog with health issues, so I am accustomed to big bills. Prior to my bullys surgery I was presented a high and low option. I choose to leave a deposit via Care Credit, for the high amount. After all was said and done VSH end up refunding me a nice sum of money since the entire deposit was not used. Thumbs Up. Post-Surgery: After one day of being home I received a call from a surgical tech inquiring on my bullys condition. I found that to be very professional as most vets I have seen for my bully never really inquire about his health after he leaves the facility. Thumbs up. Final Thoughts: This was my first time at this facility since I live an hour away and normally would not travel that far for veterinary care. My first impression is that this place was excellent for the emergent needs that my bully needed. If I lived closer I would definitely consider them for primary care. As for the negative comments, they seem to relate more to cost. I would suggest that if you need specialty care for your pet then keep in mind that you will pay special prices. I would recommend Care Credit if funds are tight. They offer 6 months deferred interest.