Upstate Veterinary Specialists

Reviews 3

DA

David Baity

I actually have already left a review from my 1st visit, but youre only allowed one per e-mail address, but I thought my second visit should also serve as a warning to what you may end up with if you choose this practice, thus the different e-mail address. My 13 year old cat became extremely ill early last week after throwing up and some explosive runs, she just became lethargic (see the pics )and barely responsive. With no improvement on the second day I took her to Roper Mountain Animal Hospital for treatment. The Doctor gave her fluids, a shot of antacid and some antibiotics to take home. Once home, I became more and more worried over her, as shes been with me since 4 weeks of age. She wouldnt look at me when I called her name and hadnt eaten in 48 hours. I called back and asked my Doctor if she could find someone to do an ultrasound asap just to be sure nothing serious was being overlooked. Sure enough, my Doc scheduled an appointment at Upstate. At this point I couldnt be picky, thus I scooped my kitty up once more for the "Taj Mahal" of pet care. Enter Doctor Hogan. She was very personable and took my cat back to do the procedure. After around 30 minutes she was finished with her. She told me that her colon looked inflamed, and that a node looked similarly agitated in the area, probably "colitis". She also mentioned that, by looking at previous x-rays, my cat looked to have an issue with her heart and lung, but that Id have to bring her back in to have it looked at. Lastly, I was told I would receive an e-mail with notes on the visit, and that they would be posted on the open portal where my Vet could look at them. Now, keep in mind I spent 2 days cracked wide open (as in tears falling, and a lot of them!) because my best friend was barely moving and responsive. Have you ever worried about a pet? Would you think that maybe youd receive that report within 24 hours, if not the same day? No, well how about 8 days later when your Vet tells you she still hasnt received notes, and I have nothing but what was verbally mentioned to me as to whats wrong with my cat to go on. Im guessing theres just too much to do for someone to act like they care, especially when the money is already in the bank, which brings me to a point I brought up in my last review. Just to walk into the door with your pet youre paying 160.00 (almost triple the standard cost of neighboring practices) , now, maybe youve just moved into the area or have mad stacks of cash to throw at whatever grabs your eye; thing is, Im a fireman. I live check to check, and when I have a medical emergency with my cat I feel it for months! I want to stress that I dont mind paying over 500.00 for an ultrasound considering the rushed appointment, but what I get infuriated over is when I dont get professional behavior from folks who float way above my pay-grade. Seriously? over a week and NOTHING! Is this what you (potential patient) want to chance for your sick pet? Im not even going to go into the fact that they couldnt even take an extra few minutes to go ahead and scan my cats heart and lungs so I might not have to get her scanned again..........insert crickets chirping........yeah, thats right. You couldnt move that little want four inches to the left to look at my cats heart and lungs. Does that smell of greed to you? Does it seem like the emphasis on this practice is on the well-being of my animal? You can be the judge of that, and I wish you luck if you have to venture through their doors. Oh yeah, the minimum 1,500-2,500 tooth extraction they quoted me (see my other stellar review) was done for 575.00 by a well reviewed Vet. Seriously folks, youre just making a payment on that fancy art decor when you walk in. Unless its an emergency and after hours, Ill not be back. PS: To the person making polite responses to get in touch with you after reading these. Why dont you just light a little fire under someones rear to try and do what theyre paid for.

DA

David Earnhardt

My experience at UVS of several years ago still haunts me, and not just the huge amount of money that I needlessly spent, but what I needlessly put my beloved Shepherd-Huskey mix through on their advice and medical suggestion. It began with the diagnosis by my local vet, who found that she had an osteosarcoma in her rear right leg which was why she had been limping for over a week. They were the ones who first recommended UVS. So I went done to meet with their cancer specialist, a nice, understanding, I think, Spanish vet (that will be my last kind word). So on his/their advice I spent a $1000 on what was supposed to be a thorough screening, to see if that was the only place she had cancer, because if it had spread or was in other spots, my decision would have been to just keep her comfortable for as long as possible. But no, they came back and said that was the only spot and they would recommend removal of the limb, to be followed by a round of chemo. Wanting to do all that could be reasonably done, I went along. She almost died during the operation, going through what they I think they called DICs, which mostly meant a downward spiral to death, but through a costly blood transfusion she was able to be saved. So now I had just had my dogs leg removed on their recommendation, which I still cant believe I put her through, except I wanted to do anything I could to reasonably save her or greatly lengthen her life. It was not to be. After the very first chemo treatment into her front left leg, it was discovered that she had the exact same kind of irritations in that leg. And no, I was not going to have opposite front leg removed. Angrily, I contacted UVS and asked them, did they want to refund the $1000 I had spent on their "full body cancer screen," or part of the almost $5000 spent on the needless operation they recommended and the added costs during the operation. The owner/head vet (another foreign guy) contacted me back and said very business-like that they did their "best effort" during the scan and that it cant find everything, and that there would be no refund of any kind. In this litigious society i cant use the multiple words that I would like to call them and refer to the competency and honesty of their practice, but you can probably imagine.

CH

Chase Daigle

The vet tech and veterinary oral surgeon were both very clear about conveying exactly what the plan of treatment was for my cats chipped canine. All charges in the estimate were explained upfront. The oral surgeon called with updates after the anesthesia and cleaning/thorough exam of the teeth to let me know how things were going and if there were any changes to the treatment plan after the thorough tooth examination. The root canal was performed and I recieved another call from the oral surgeon telling me how the procedure went and when I could expect to come get my cat. I found they were extremely thorough and detail oriented when it came to both communication with me as well as the procedure itself. The vet tech followed up with me on my cats discharge and gave me a kit for home care and answered any and all questions I had. I had to drive down from Irmo for this visit and it was well worth it. This was my first experience with them and Im a hard critic. They deserve this five star review which I dont give lightly. Edit: I read a few other reviews and yes the procedure (root canal) was expensive but that is because of anesthesia and its still oral surgery wether or not its on a human or a pet theyre both specialized procedures and arguably a 13 lbs cat is harder to get the anesthesia for than a 150+ lbs human and the teeth and mouth are way smaller too and therefore harder to work on. Guys, you get what you pay for... So stop complaining about the price of procedures when its no different than anywhere else! One difference you actually get the service you paid for here and when I questioned a charge for the procedure on my estimate it was taken off of my bill as they did make a mistake in including it. The extra charge was 36 dollars if I recall correctly and it seemed like an honest error and they fixed it as soon as I brought it to their attention. Bottom line that was the best vet experience Ive had and it sure as hell beat the human doctors at the ER... I wish I could find a doctor for myself that was close to as good as they were dealing with my cat!