University of Pennsylvania- Ryan Hospital for Companion Animals

Reviews 3

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Devyn E Jeremenko

I wish I could give zero stars. After my cat began to vomit blood, quite a few times I might add, I decided to take him to Ryan Veterinary Hospitals ER since it was beyond regular hours. Upon arrival (around 8:30pm), they immediately took my cat to the back and gave me some paper work. There was a few other people there, maybe 4, so I was under the assumption I would be seen soon by a vet tech to tell them what exactly was going on. Two hours later, I was finally called to an examination room. Still no sign of my cat either. The vet tech was friendly, and asked what was going on. I explained everything, that we changed his diet recently, and asked if they had examined my cat yet. SURPRISE! they had not. So for two hours, my cat which was vomiting blood, was in the back and most likely in a cage alone, had not been examined. The vet tech told me the doctor would be in shortly. So another hour goes by and finally the doctor arrives to tell me that my cat seems "dumpy" and looks like he doesnt feel good. We started to discuss pricing (keep in mind its an easy $150 just to walk through the ER doors) and I noted that I am not in a great financial position, and would like to hear what the doctor thinks is the best way to spend my money. After rattling off a list of things, the total came to about $400-$500 (NOT INCLUDING THE $150). I asked him to first do blood work to see if there was any imbalance in his vitamin D levels or if he could have potentially swallowed some kind of poison. Another hours goes by, and the doctor returns to tell me that my cats blood sugar is in the 400s and that he would recommend I keep him there overnight and run more tests. When I asked for an estimated cost, he told me about $3,000 to $4,000. I politely declined and said I just dont have the finances to do that, and I would rather take him home and wait until the morning to take him to his normal vet. The doctor then recommended that I should not take him home, but instead he said "he really doesnt look like he will make it through the night if you dont keep him here... I can euthanize him if you would like." This infuriated me. My cat, who showed NO signs of any sickness before that day, was now a terminally ill diabetic? I declined and asked to take my cat home immediately since no treatment could be provided without keeping him over night. They then took ANOTHER HOUR to furnish my poor baby and the paperwork. $350 and 4 hours later, I left with my sick kitty who was feeling no better than he was when we came. The following day (about 10 hours later) I took him to his regular vet, who ran the same tests and found nothing but normal results. Normal blood sugar, normal everything. The vet decided that the cause for vomiting was due to his change in food, and suggested we go back to the old kind we were using. So thank you Ryan Veterinary Hospital, for suggesting I should either spend $4,000, and for offering to euthanize my "diabetic" cat because he wasnt responding well to his new diet. Unbelievable!

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Aimee Schmidt

My 4yr old Rottie had a slipped disc in her neck as well as a few other degenerative spinal issues, but the slipped disc being the biggest. We were away on vacation my nephew and sister rushed her to the emergency room when she was unable to walk. They immediately attended to her and began diagnosing her issues. The attending neurologist was not in until the morning so she was kept stable and comfortable throughout the night. In the morning the attending neurologist contacted me after his examination with our options giving a wide range depending on the course of action I chose. I opted for an MRI, with a potential for surgery depending on what the MRI looked like. At this point we were on a flight home. Upon arriving in Philly the neurologist contacted us with what the MRI diagnosed. We had a decision to make either opt for surgery or not, we were given accurate costs potential prognosis for each procedure and not given any false hopes. We were told potentially she may not live or they may not be able to repair because of the location. I found his straight forward approach comforting. I was placing my dogs life in his hands and whatever the outcome he was going to do his very best by us and her. I personally appreciated the honesty. We went for it and opted for surgery. Lulu made it through better than anticipated the potential issues were all avoided. We were told we could come she her the next day. After our visit Dr. Tun (neurologist/neurosurgeon) brought us to an office to review her MRI and show us what was going on. He took a good amount of time explaining everything in great detail. She spent a week at UPenn and L visited everyday, she was comfortable, happy and well cared for, which is not easy for a 128lb dog. To date, (approx 3 mos.) she is still recovering everyday. She is learning how to do things all over again. Lulu has a good amount of muscle wasting so supporting herself on her hind end is slow. She can now sit up on her own, can walk with assistance, swims like a champ. She has complete control over her bowels and urination. Every week she visits Dr. Davey her rehabilitation vet for a through assessment, new exercises, laser therapy and electrical stimulation. I cannot say enough about the care of both her Doctors, Dr. Tun and Dr. Davey. They have been nothing but honest and extremely helpful. I can call or email either one at anytime with a response a few hours to a day later. We appreciate everything they have done and continue to do. If you are curious or going through the same type surgery, Lulu can be found on YouTube under "Team Lulu" I update monthly with videos of her walking or swimming. UPenn Veterinary Hospital are the best of the best, truly rockstar!!!!

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Stephanie Mack

This is a wonderful facility for 24/7 emergency care but an often frustrating place to take your pet for regular routine visits. I have had my dog and cats files misplaced and even lost on several occasions and I have never had the sense that it was possible for my pet to have an ongoing relationship with any particular vet because each and every visit is obviously a learning opportunity for a constant flow of young interns and young vets gathering up much needed experience. And the supervising teaching vets seem to be hellbent to go strictly by a text book approach to each situation and thus offer little in the way of good intuition and common sense and almost always wind up suggesting the most costly way of dealing with problems that may not necessarily require a bevy of expensive tests and possibly invasive treatments. And finally, just the simple business of paying for prescription pet food at the front desk can lead to an employee who is actually familiar with you and recognizes you as a steady client after several years of taking your pets to Ryan Hospital to suddenly and inexplicably look at you with suspicion and grill you for ID over a routine purchase, this after spending several thousand dollars there for expensive surgeries and many regular visits and pet food purchases and not once ever being questioned like this in the past...this is not the biggest deal in the world but it is very odd when the name on the computer matches up with the CC being presented and, again, if you are a person they have known for several years. I am very grateful that this facility is a world class place for ER visits but I would sadly have to say it is best to go to a regular, private vet for anything else.