Katonah Bedford Veterinary Center

Reviews 3

KE

Kevin Schmidt

We brought our 8 year old female Shelty to VCA Katonah for mast cell tumor removal and chemo therapy treatment. VCA Katonah said if we did nothing, no surgery..no chemo, Chelsea might only live for 6 more months. We did all of the recommended treatment and Chelsea was dead in 3 months. The cancer didnt spread, we know this from the necropsy report. They kept giving her chemo after numerous problems it was causing, including but not limited to; bloody stools, she was at less than 60% of her normal amount of energy, she was throwing up after a good percentage of the dosages. They kept giving her the OK for more chemo by means of multiple types of regular blood draw tests. She handled the first 4 week round of chemo which was the vinblastine infusions well with hardly any symptoms however, she did pick up coccidia during that time which was treated successfully. Then after a 2 week break from successful vinblastine infusions, we got a new doctor. The initial and experienced doctor had moved to Maine. Our new oncologist cleared Chelsea to begin the new at home oral chemo drug called Palladia. Only 2 days after her first dose we took a break 1 scheduled dosage break from Palladia because she was vomiting. A week later we took another scheduled dosage break because Chelsea had bloody stools. The next day we had an oncology visit, I reported that chelsea was at less than 60% of normal energy levels and her stools were still bloody. The day after that she was given palladia again. Chelsea was then given her palladia at full scheduled dosage intervals, until about 2 weeks later when she woke up one morning and wouldnt finish her breakfast and began vomitting. She never stopped vomiting until she died at VCA Katonah. Chelsea lasted less than 3 weeks on Palladia, VCA Katonah and their oncology staff are still giving dogs this medicine. When we started the treatment, the doctors gave us anti-nausea meds incase she started throwing up and made us feel like her throwing up is normal and not to panic and administer the Cerenia if she starts to vomit. Then, the oncology staff had to the nerve to try and blame us for "not getting her to us fast enough". When Chelsea didnt finish her breakfast and started throwing up, I called the vet a total of 3 times before we were able to talk to our oncologist because she was overbooked and busy. It wasnt until after 4 hours and 3 episodes of vomiting did I finally get her on the phone and she told us if she vomits again to bring her in. We did everything we could on our side to give Chelsea the best advantage possible. We trusted VCA Katonah and their oncology "specialists" with our dogs life and they failed us. We were very skeptical and nervous about chemo therapy and I remember our initial oncology doctor trying to comfort us before any treatment began by saying, "I wouldnt be doing this for a living if I felt like I was making dogs suffer". Chelsea died at VCA Katonah on an empty stomach, dying from the inside out, hardly able to stand on her own, with bodily fluids come out of every orifice uncontrollably. Her body shut down. She died while we were with her and we had to call off the CPR after 5 minutes or so because it wasnt working. My mother, brother and myself are traumatized. I am 26, my brother is 23..Chelsea was our dads dog, who also died suddenly in 2010. Stay away from VCA Katonah. -They charged us over $10,000 for everything including the 2 day emergency visit which resulted in Chelseas death. -Search google for "Americas top 10 most overpaid CEOs, Mother Jones"The CEO of VCA Animal Hospitals is on this list of the nations most overpaid CEOs..

JO

Joel Osnoss

First, my heart goes out to those who wrote negative reviews who have lost their beloved pets, but my experience with KBVH has been nothing short of miraculous. Our 11-year-old dog has been a patient at this hospital on a number of occasions over the years -- mostly for after-hours emergencies. Each time, we were immediately attended to, and the attending vet and technicians were courteous and competent in their service delivery, as well as clear in their communications. The dog has had a couple of relatively minor surgeries there, and they were done flawlessly, with absolutely no drama. The reason I am writing this review now, however, is because recently the vets and techs literally saved my dogs life, against tremendous odds. I brought him in on a Thursday late-afternoon because he seemed uncomfortable. The receptionist called in a vet, who took him into the exam room and immediately noted a serious issue. The vet was very compassionate in delivering very frightening news to me. She patiently answered all of my questions, and explained things sometimes twice or three times because there was so much for me to process at the moment. I met with the surgeon, and he explained the risks clearly, and again, with tremendous compassion. By that night, my dog was in surgery. The surgeon actually called me from the operating room to ask me to weigh in on a decision on whether or not to take some steps that might have ended my dogs life if they were not done flawlessly. I decided to go ahead with the more risky procedure, and indeed the surgeon performed flawlessly. After four hours, my dog was out of surgery and in recovery. He stayed in recovery for five days, during which he received expert treatment, delivered with loving care. I know this because they let me sit with him for extended periods, while watching all of the vets and techs go about their business. They clearly enjoy their jobs! Everyone at KBVH -- from the receptionists to the surgeons -- treated me and my dog with compassion and kindness. I wish human hospitals were as well run and had such compassion. My dog has been out of the hospital now for three days, and is continuing to recover. I can say with heartfelt confidence that were it not for KBVH, I would now be mourning the loss of my beloved family member. Having KBVH in my neighborhood gives me tremendous peace of mind.

GO

Golden Boxer

I made an appt with a foster dog of mine thats 7 months old and dying of kidney failure. The thousands of dollar that this rescue would have paid them going forward is amazing to me and really what I was looking for was quality care and service for a young dog in his last year of life. It started with the appointment and their concern with payment. I reassured them many times that the rescue would pay and if there were any issues I would pay and get reimbursed which has happened to me before. I checked in for my appt 15 minutes before, filled out the paperwork and submitted. No one really said anything it was pretty sterile. I went into the exam room and sat there for an hour. No one came in and said theres an emergency doctor will be in shortly or sorry for the wait or have me any status update. I sat there and thought what if he needs weekly treatments Im going to drive and hour round trip then wait an hr each time for the doctor just to see him? What if its another hr or longer? I started to think this was probably because he was a foster dog and to me hes the world I would never treat him any less. He deserves the best life I can give him. I walked out and said to the secretary I dont want to start a relationship with you like this. I have waited an hour so Im going to leave. She immediately called the doctor and spoke. She told him what I said and then hung up and said to me "ok bye". My father has been a human primary care physician for over 40 years giving back to Westchester County residents. Hes 85 and still makes house calls. I ran his medical practice for 10 years and I own my own businesses. I would never want someone to feel the way I did about a medical visit. Put in a tiny exam room to stare at the wall for an hr with no communication as to when the doctor would ever come. I think coming into medical practices and having corporations take over decision making and policy is bad for my foster and bad for your pet.