WVRC

Reviews 4

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T S

My son took his 12 year old cat Brooks in on a late Saturday night because he was vomiting a lot and in a 25 hour period had obviously lost a lot of weight. Looking at him we thought he was not going to make it through the night. We all felt he couldnt wait until Monday to go to the vet. I put my credit card down for payment. They told me they would approve for $1600. on the low side and $2600 would be the high side. 30 hours later and many tests and some run over again they found nothing to be wrong. But I found out when speaking with my son that it was over $2200. I told him to go back and ask to have Brooks released since nothing seemed to be wrong and the he seemed to be doing better. They told him they could not release him. And he then told me that they said the balance was higher now. I called to find out how much the bill was and how they got it over what they told me they were going to approve. They never called me to ask. They told me it was over $2700. I then asked them how much more this was going to run since they were not going to release Brooks. The Dr. told me they were looking at another $500.00 When I explained I was told at the high end it would be $2600. She told me that they knew the card had a limit of $3200.00 and thought they could go that high. I very quickly explained that I was upset that no one called me to approve this. And that if it went any higher then $3000. They them selves were going to have to pay it. She later called me back and said they did some reevaluating and that they were going to change procedures and that the cat could be picked up the next morning. And that they would not charge any more. We all find it terrible that they played on my sons feelings and not wanting to lose his pet. And it is an outrage that they would continue to charge my card with out MY approval. I am thinking of contacting the BBB to report this kind of behavior. Thank goodness Brooks seems to be doing well at this time. It has only been a few hours since he has been home. To lose him would have made this situation even worse. Speaking to a few others who have taken their pet there and looking at other reviews it seems that this must be their normal practice. We wont ever take another one of our pets there.

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Scott Burditt

I feel like the staff at WVRC saved our Chesapeake Bay Retrievers life. Twice. Two years ago, Teddie was acutely anemic. After blood transfusions and other care, and several months of follow-up medicine, he was back to normal. Last week, after we rode a roller coaster of emotion, we opted for him to have surgery. Hes home now and appears to be doing great. His blood chemistry confirms it. Prior to surgery, the surgeon, Dr. Reed, and Teddies doctor, Dr. Balog, explained the risks and the unknowns involved with surgery. We went ahead knowing we could lose him. We had an emotionally difficult few days. Unfortunately we understand the pain described by other reviewers. We lost our shih tzu bichon at WVRC last year after several days and several thousand dollars. But I feel the staff did all they could for our little guy. I feel strongly that had we brought him in one day or even 12 hours earlier, he would have made it. But thats just my guess. Now we are exceptionally grateful to have Teddie back. The surgery and hospital stay cost a lot of money. In fact, the cost of care has led me to question whether well ever have other dogs in the future - unless we have good insurance, if there is such a thing. Health care costs are a tough fact of life, whether that care is for your beloved pet or yourself. I have no doubt whatsoever that, by far, the most egregious disregard for ones pocketbook occurs in human health. No doubt whatsoever. Before I go off topic on a human-health rant, my point is this: I feel the staff at WVRC genuinely cares about the animals in their care. Why? Whether were at the regular vet or WVRC, we are acutely aware of the staffs words, tone and actions. Thats why Im confident the WVRC staff cares. We lost one of our family there, and we gained more time with another. The most we can ask for from WVRC is a high level of expertise, compassion and their best effort. I feel like weve received it. Were grateful for Dr. Reed and Dr Balog, Joleen and others, whose care enabled Teddie to be home here with us again.

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A Private User

My otherwise very healthy dog developed some symptoms suggesting a major problem while I was away traveling. My mom who was staying in my house at the time called one of my friends asking him to drive my dog to vet to have her checked out. My friend didnt know any better and took her to the Vet referral Ctr in Brookfield. My friend made it very clear that he is neither dog owner nor dog sitter and is not comfortable with making any care decisions. He also repetitively volunteered my information/phone number, also dog had an implanted chip making it easy to find the breeder and the owner. To no avail. He was made to pay over $2000 up front, or no care would be provided. His credit card was charged with the full amount. He agreed, because he didnt want to be responsible for my dog not receiving care. Unfortunately it turned out to be a terminal cancer, a sneaky type that frequently remains undetected till it is advanced. Even though poor dog was diagnosed as terminal and suffered from vast internal bleeding, for the next full 3 days Vet Referral Center continued senseless, aggressive and very costly care. Not one attempt has been made to contact me. At the end of 3 days of this senseless torment, my dear dog was finally euthanised and a $5000+ bill presented to and charged to my friend. I found out about all of it upon my return. Thus I was robbed of the opportunity to be with her and to prevent this extended torment from happening. When I complained to the business manager, I found no understanding and no follow up.

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Abby C

This is a great place. I have been there probably 5 to 10 times over past 10 years for my dogs. They have always been really kind, friendly, compassionate, and understanding. I always felt like the vets there knew what they were doing and had total confidence in them. I saw a "dog cardiologist" (which I didnt even know existed!) there for my dog who had an abnormal heart murmur and I swear I would have let this woman treat ME because she was so intelligent and competent. I do have to say, that they did do an EKG and a heart monitor and those tests/procedures were pretty pricey but at the end of the day thats just how much that stuff costs and the staff were very upfront about the costs beforehand and I did not feel pressured to spend the money if I didnt want to and they told me what alternatives there were. I have also called several times about concerns about a pet and if I need to bring them in and they were so helpful over the phone. They would even tell you what to try and how to do it at home if they felt that you didnt really need to bring them and these calls are all free of charge. They have no ulterior motives and really seem to advise what is best for your pets. I really wish that they did primary care so I could make them my regular vet. I have their number saved in my phone and posted on my refrigerator and it puts me at ease that if something goes wrong I know where to go. Thanks, guys!

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