VitalPet - Town & Country Veterinary Hospital - 24 HRS

Reviews 3

JO

Joe Mendez

I have taken my cat here three times and while the first two visits went fairly well, with the first trip saving my cats life when he had a kidney infection, this last trip was disconcerting for multiple reasons and frankly could be considered bad doctoring and diagnosing. My cat had been missing for three days and arrived home Christmas morning with a deep wound on his paw that had much of his flesh torn off. My impression was that in the worst case scenario, the paw would be amputated and best case it could be treated and healed, albeit with significant scaring and loss of some function. Thankfully this clinic was open on Christmas day so we rushed him over. The staff was compassionate and helpful and was able to see him in only 5-10 minutes but the examination and prognosis was the troubling part. The doctor immediately concluded that we would would have to amputate the limb up to the elbow. This was going to cost 2-3k. That was the only option given to my cat who was otherwise doing really well. The wound was not infected, he did not have a fever, and he had a normal appetite and did not seem to be experiencing debilitating pain. Dr Tave also concluded that my cat had lost sensation in his paw which was another reason they would have to amputate.I could not afford the operation so I was resigned that I would have to put down my beloved cat of 10 years. My girlfriend and I were devastated and the doctor gave us the euthanasia invoice and options for after death care. Of course I wasnt going put down my cat on Christmas day so we decided to take him home for one last day with him. There was no work done besides the doctor briefly looking at the wound and concluding it would have to be amputated. I called the next day to ask if it would be possible to do an antibiotic treatment and the doctor refused to give me a prescription. It was amputation or euthanasia for her, although upon pressing her, she did encourage me to get a second opinion and check for lower prices. Boy was I glad I took her advice The next day I decided to get a second opinion and they refuted much of what Dr Tave told me. 1. My cat did not lose all feeling in his paw, he actually had quite a bit of feeling because the doctor at this other clinic actually tried cleaning the wound! Thats right, the doctor at Vital pet did not even do basic tests to see if he had feeling nor did she bother to clean the wound at all. She actually recommended AGAINST cleaning or doing any treatment to the wound and sent me home that day with a dirty, possibly infected wound. My cat spent much of that night cleaning it himself. 2. The second doctor gave a full plan for treating the wound to allow it to heal. It actually wasnt too far gone to heal on its own and told me his dog had a similar injury that it recovered from. 3. The other clinic gave me a much more reasonable price of 1-1.2k for an amputation. And it was actually a BACKUP plan if the antibiotic treatment did not work. Looking back, its unbelievable that she incorrectly concluded my cat lost all feeling and its really disconcerting that she ONLY gave me an option I could not afford. She would not even entertain the idea of attempting to let it heal on its own and refused to give an antibiotic prescription. Moreover I was charged $43 for the examination where she neither cleaned the wound, did any tests to correctly diagnose the problem, and then sent me back home with a horrible set of choices - handicapping my cat or putting him down. I can see that her heart was in the right place but in this instance, she just failed in her job and did not truly put the patient first or give a reasonable treatment plan given the financial situation. Not only did the second doctor do a better job, they gave a realistic plan at an affordable price. They were also shocked that Vital Pet did not offer a plan to treat the wound. They can do a good job in some cases but I would advise to be cautious of the price they give you and seek out a second opinion if they try to box you into extreme choices.

PH

PHANT0M BLACK

Its difficult to retell my story and experience with this vet but I feel that I have the need to do so. We rushed our dog to this facility as they are a 24/7 facility because he felt weak and he would hardly move or eat. With diagnostics being done, he was diagnosed with cancer and the only options we had was either get this spleen removed (thats where the cancer supposedly is located) or put him down. Because we wanted for our dog to be around longer, we opted for the surgery. He came through the surgery but he refused to eat and felt really weak. When we went to go visit him, he only wanted water and didnt want to move. A few hours later, we asked how he is doing and we were told that he is stable. We went to go visit him as we had planned and to our surprise, he passed away in his crate. One of the techs even had the nerve to tell us he has a pulse. We were told that he was up and stable 15 minutes before we got there. How was our dog stable when he passed away less than 15 minutes that took us to get there. When we asked for doctor notes and records, there werent any and the last documentation noted was the day before. We lost our dog and all this place cared about was charging us for the medical bill. The vets who were working that night except for the vet that conducted his surgery did not even comfort us or say sorry for our loss but went on to do their business. This veterinary hospital not only killed our beloved dog, they even misdiagnosed our other dog. They said she needed a hip replacement based on her x-rays. When we took her to another vet to get a second opinion, it was diagnosed that her knee was the problem and not her hip. We also talked to a surgeon and his diagnosis was also the knee. Town and Country was going to perform an operation on my other dog which will not correct her problem which shows that they only want to make the money and not care about your pets. Please spread the word and do not take your pets to this place as you will get overcharged and your pets will be misdiagnosed with the wrong ailments just so they can perform unnecessary medical treatments that will cause you an arm and a leg. If you care about your pet, do not take them to this horrible place.

JO

John Eakin

I love these vets, they saved my best friend after her regular vet had neglected her for years. I didn’t realize how poor her health was until I took her in for a second opinion. My first dealing with this clinic was last summer when Molly collapsed from the heat on a Sunday afternoon so we rushed her to the closest emergency vet (Mission). That clinic said they were to busy to even look at her and suggested we go to Town and Country – best thing we’ve ever done. They were busy, too, but took time to get her stabilized and cooled down. Everyone there was professional, compassionate, and seemed to truly care about the welfare of our pet. We went back to our regular vet for annual immunizations and a checkup. For the second year in a row, he wasn’t concerned about a wound on her hip from a ruptured abscess nor did he recommend any dental work. The wound still was not healed six months later so we took her to Town and Country for a second opinion. They suggested the wound be surgically closed and the tissue biopsied. They also showed us that she had several broken teeth and severe periodontal disease and recommended those problems also be corrected. They gave us detailed estimates of the costs, which, while not inexpensive, were very reasonable. The doctor called us immediately prior to and after each surgery and discussed in detail what was going to happen and how it went. All the options were discussed with us and we were able to make informed decisions. She’s a couple of weeks post-op, now, and like a new dog. She plays like a puppy and there is no doubt she will be around much longer than I expected just a few months ago. I can’t say enough good things about Town and Country – they’ve spoiled me even for the best people doctors. Their office is clean and modern. The ladies at the front desk are the most professional I’ve encountered in any medical office and just nice people on top of that. The vet techs are more like nurses and know their stuff – they’ve obviously had some very advanced training. And the doctors, well, I wouldn’t be afraid to let them work on me. One visit to Town and Country and you’ll never take your pet anywhere else.