Sugar House Veterinary Hospital

Reviews 3

KA

Katie Watkins

I will never go to Sugar House Vet again. I took my dog to Sugar House Veterinary Hospital when he became extremely ill over the weekend. I made an emergency appointment on Monday, March 24th. The receptionist took me to an exam room where I explained my dog’s symptoms: excessive drinking and urinating, weight loss, decreased appetite, few-to-no bowel movements, and lethargy. I also mentioned a cough that sounded like he was trying to expel something caught in his throat. (He had never had this cough before this weekend.) She mentioned that it could be kennel cough. However, my dog had never been diagnosed with kennel cough and had not been anywhere lately to catch it. After she finished, the vet-tech came in to check out my dog. He asked me if my dog had thrown up or had diarrhea. I told him that I personally had not witnessed my dog throwing up or having diarrhea, but my mom had witnessed my dog throwing up. I also told him that I found runny stool—not quite diarrhea—in my house, but I didn’t know if it was from my sick dog or my other dog who may had eaten something. The vet-tech said the runny stool was likely from my sick dog since remnants of stool were stuck on his fur. Next, the doctor came in. The doctor listened to my dogs breathing, checked for dehydration, and felt his stomach for abnormalities. The doctor told me that my dog was severely dehydrated and that they needed to do blood work to determine the illness. I happily let them run the tests. The doctor told me that he would call me with my dog’s results in the morning on Tuesday. I mentioned that my dogs symptoms sounded like diabetes, but the doctor told me that some symptoms my look like one thing but may be something else. The doctor sent me home with my sick dog and nothing but a stool/urine sample bag. The doctor never mentioned getting my “severely dehydrated” dog and IV. The next morning, I waited for Sugar House Vet to call me with the results. Nothing. I called them twice that morning. The receptionists had no one there to read me the results. Finally, my father called around 12:30 PM (noon) and demanded another doctor to read the results. The results were not good. The doctor even said, “This dog should be hospitalized.” After that, I rushed my dog to an emergency vet where they took him in and tried stabilizing him. I would have done this sooner, but I trusted Sugar House Vet to do the right thing and have my dog’s health in mind. Given that Sugar House Vet lacked a lab to expedite the diagnosis, given that my dog was severely sick, the the doctor should have referred me to another vet that had the property facility the day I initially took him into the vet. I feel the doctor did not have the best interest of me or my dog at heart. My dog died at the ER vet Wednesday morning. Who knows what that extra day would have done for my baby boy? I will never go to Sugar House Veterinary Hospital again.

MO

Monica Stapley

Recently visited Sugarhouse Veterinary Hospital to have my 5 year old Russian Blue cat assessed for urinary tract issues. My cat Bean is extremely aggressive with everyone except me. I warned the assistant about this right away. She offered to wait to do anything with the cat (get temp/weight) until the doctor came in, in order to avoid stressing the cat. Dr. Greg Latimer soon joined us and attempted to examine the cat. He placed the cat on the table, looked in his ears and then moved to feel his abdomen. The cat totally freaked out, hissed, spit and tried to murder Dr. Latimer. Dr. Latimer just backed up and let the cat jump back into his carrier. He wasnt upset at all. He was incredibly compassionate and empathetic even though the cat tried to murder him. He suggested that we move forward to treat the possible UTI without further diagnostic assessment (which would not have been possible without sedation). The treatment was an antibiotic shot (slow release lasts for 2 weeks) and a change in diet (special urinary tract health food). He explained to the aid that they would weigh the cat in the carrier so as not to further stress the cat. They weighed the carrier later empty and just subtracted the difference to get the cats weight. He even had the foresight to write the carriers weight on it in marker so that if we needed to weigh the cat again in the future it would be really easy. When it was time for the 2 shots (rabies & antibiotic), they had the cat jump out of the carrier to the floor, gently covered him in a towel and the aid gently held him still while Dr. Latimer very quickly and efficiently delivered the two shots. I was extremely impressed with Dr. Latimers beside manner, compassion, and calm and expert handling of my very aggressive and difficult cat. The treatment seems to be working. The cat has not peed outside the litterbox in 2 weeks. In addition to the shot and change in diet, Ive also had to re-habituate the cat to using the litterbox by keeping him in a separate part of my home from where he had started peeing. I tore out my carpet and am putting in tile just in case I have any further problems. The staff at the clinic were all very friendly, the clinic was clean, and they have all followed up with me via phone regarding how the cat is doing and regarding special food orders. Very happy kitty mama.

SY

Syringa Rose

Warning: this is a lengthy review, as Im struggling to find the words to express my gratitude toward the staff at the Sugarhouse Veterinary Hospital, just now. Just over a month ago, my Australian Shepherd was trampled by a horse. Although we had only been to S.V.H. once before, I knew he was in their system and I called them, frantically asking if there was someone there who could examine him. The woman on the line said yes, and told me to bring him in. We arrived there in less than 20 minutes, and when I pulled up, a technician met me in the parking lot, asking me if I was Ozzys mom. When I carried him inside, Dr. Latimer and another tech were waiting for us. Miraculously, his most severe injuries were a shattered left front leg, some bruised ribs, and a nasty gash on the back of his head. Dr. Latimer explained the best options, under the circumstances, for emergency surgery on the leg. I agreed, and they proceeded to do so. About 3 weeks later; upon inspection of the pins they had placed to mend the leg, they determined that the pins were not doing their intended job, and informed me they would need to install a plate in his leg, instead. They did just that, and did not charge me a dime for the second procedure. After the second surgery, a staff member met me and re-opened the clinic after hours, so Oz would not spend the night there alone. Ozzy is a 2.5 year old Aussie-mix I adopted, just over a year ago. In addition to suffering from a sometimes severe O/C disorder, he also has fear-based aggression towards other humans, that usually requires the use of a muzzle for strangers to safely handle him; until now. Instead of judging me, or being annoyed by Ozzys issues: the staff at S.V.H. have followed "the protocol" and have brought him back to me, un-muzzled, on our last two visits. Again, I struggle to summarize how impressed I am with the dedication, integrity, decency and aptitude of the staff of Sugar House Veterinary Hospital. They have not only treated my badly wounded dog with nothing but professionalism and respect- they have employed kindness, every step of the way; and it shows. Thanks for looking after Oz, everyone. We will never forget it. Yall are awesome. Kindness, rules.