Veterinary Emergency & Referral Group

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

PLEASE READ. Do NOT bring your pet here unless it is an absolute emergency. I am not a vet but I have had experience with over 20 vet practices and am quite knowledgable about animal health. This place really rubbed me the wrong way..$3,000 later, my dog is still in the same condition he came in, they have no idea whats wrong with him, and one vet (Dr.Shaw) had the attitude of.."Sorry but theres nothing more we can do..Im going to put him on this antibiotic and send him home." Translation: Thanks for your money, heres a weak antibiotic, and say goodbye to your pet. (My dog isnt even two years old yet..) What kind of vet sends a dog home with a fever of 105? I contacted many many other vets and specialists immediately about my dogs case and they were all wondering why in the world she was acting like there is nothing left to do for him. Sure, she did request to do one more expensive procedure and wouldnt talk to me about ANYTHING else but that (money hungry? Hmm.) ..however, I think that more needed to be looked at. The other vets (in and out of their practice) had great ideas and I tried asking her opinion on other professional opinions, but she would just nod and looked annoyed that I actually gave a damn about my pet. Dr.Shaw does NOT care about animals.. If you know anything about animals and/or health, she will not like you, be stubborn, and will put your pets life at stake to try and prove something. (I happened to run into two people that used to work with her and they said that she does this to any client that questions her about any procedures and tests..beware.) And the nurse Shannon was EXTREMELY rude. If you see her, steer clear. An assistant brought my dog to me in a towel during a visit..she came in the room and said "Thanks to you, your dog probably has a very high fever again" and took him from me..even though HER assistant brought him to me like that. When I asked what they had put him on, she looked annoyed. I asked her to spell it out (so I could ask my other vet about it) and she was walking away and spelled it in a very fast and rude manner that I could not understand. I walked up to her again and asked her to write it..she scribbled some illegible medicine name down, gave me a VERY rude look, and walked away. Do you think I deserved to be treated like this after paying $3,000? Absolutely not. There was only one vet assistant that I really liked..not sure of her name but she worked nights and had dreadlocks and was very knowledgable and helpful. Dr.Ciampa is also great..she actually took the time to talk to me on the phone and listen to my questions and concerns. She even talked to my old vet! Extremely nice in person as well. Too bad my "case" is assigned to Dr.Shaw.. My dog is now home and sick.. he has been running a very high fever all day. I tried calling three times and Dr.Shaw still wont call me back. She has my money already so she doesnt care anymore. DO NOT TRUST YOUR PET WITH HER. However, to be fair, there are some awesome vets in the practice but unfortunately, I managed to get one of the sour ones. They do have quite a few specialists and are open all day every day. I do not recommend that you go here unless it is an absolute emergency. And I do agree with other reviews that they are money hungry.. The first hour of being there, I had to sign a contract saying that I would allow them to spend $1000-$2,000 of my money..then had to pay $1,000 right then and there. Well that estimate went up to $4,000..they told me about some Care Credit plan..how convenient. You apply for their credit card to pay for your pets overpriced bill.. And the catch.. they ask how much the credit line is. (so they know how much they can get away with spending..) Avoid letting them know this amount. Once my pet is stable, I am taking him to another vet. Had I known that I would spend $3,000 and still have a sick pet and ZERO answers, I would have gone elsewhere in the first place.. Save your time, money, and pet and go somewhere else.

A

A Private User

This facility are experts at deceptive medical practices, and fraudulant billing. They lied to us about our dogs prognosis so they could go forward and perform unnecessary procedures. After performing an ultrasound to determine the location of a mass on our dog they told us our dog would be fine after surgery...we signed a bill for the cost of the surgery and aftercare, which was supposed to be all inclusive covering any or/all complications. We visited our dog every day and was never informed of possible additional charges, because they were very clear that the $4200 would cover everything. That all changed when my wife went to pick the dog up, and they told her the mass was not isolated on the spleen, which they had been saying before and after the surgery. Now they said the dog had cancer, and would require cancer treatment or die in one to three months. My wife decided to take our dog home, since he was an eleven yr. old shelter dog. Thats when it got real ugly, when they tried to force my wife to sign a bill for an additional $1100 after we already paid the $4200, which were the original terms of our agreement. We were very clear with them about the $4200 covering everything and they assured us it would, until we didnt agree on additional treatments for our dog. Thats when they created a fictitious bill. By the way our dog lived another 11 months with no additional treatments.....one other thing to show how spiteful they are, we agreed on a third party called Care Credit to pay the bill, which means they get their money immediately, and we were supposed to have twelve months to pay it back interest free, but they changed the code in their system according to Care Credit, so we had only three months to pay it back before we were charged interest....and they also reached out to their affiliate on New Utrecht Ave. not to assist us in having the staples removed from our dog....real dog lovers...

A

A Private User

Took my 13 year old Labrador there yesterday at the request of my veterinarian and would never go back. They said she had a mass on her spleen or liver and it was probably a cancerous tumor when the vet kept saying he was sure it was a hematoma. They gave the high and low estimate the high being $ 6,051. They advertise no interest payment plans. LOL They wanted $4,000 up front so you could get a payment plan for $2,000. Whats the point??? If you need a payment plan it means you dont have a lot of money up front. This is false advertising. The best part is that you pay all this money for vets straight out of college with no experience. They are all so young. I didnt see any older doctors. You can also look on their website. I agree with the other reviewer definitely about the location. Its in yuppieville and they all have a lot of dogs and a lot of money. Right across the street is a doggie daycare where they all prob send their animals when they are away or at work. As soon as I saw where it was I already knew exactly what it was going to be like. A lot of unnecessary tests and a lot of money. I also think whatever dr refers you there gets a cut. My dog was being stabilized to have surgery and then they called 45 minutes later to let me know she had a stroke but were still willing to perform the surgery. What a joke. They torture animals and take your money. In the end over $700 and she had to be put down. I will let it go because she was old but I would never go here or recommend anyone going there if your thinking about it. Try the Animal Medical Center. .