Unfortunately I would not recommend this clinic, but they are the only after hours option so you may have no choice. It is going to be expensive if you don't have pet insurance - be prepared. We wai... Read More
Unfortunately I would not recommend this clinic, but they are the only after hours option so you may have no choice. It is going to be expensive if you don't have pet insurance - be prepared. We waited a long time last night and Dr. Browne's bedside manner was not good - both in lack of empathy and explanation of options. She told me she didn't have time to explain the reason for an x-ray as she had other patients to see. I am fairly well educated. If I had not had some confidence in my ability to understand and analyze information this would have been a much more stressful encounter in an already stressful situation as our kitten had aspirated water and was in respiratory distress. We knew from other online reviews, past experience with our dog (who had pet insurance), and interactions with owners, that this emergency clinic was prone to provide an expensive care plan without concern to budget. We did not agree to the care plan proposed ($1500-$2500 with lots of testing) but instead, at 10pm, and after waiting 2.5 hours to speak with the vet, agreed to x-rays (at insistence of Dr. Brown who informed us this would be critical to have before morning and told us in a very disapproving manner we'd need to sign we declined their full care plan), oxygen, iv, antibiotics and an overnight stay. Phoned at regular intervals between 11pm and 2am to find the results of the x-ray and found they had been taken by 11pm but not read until 2am. Was not really impressed by this as the reason we had agreed to the xray was Dr. Browne had emphatically told us it could make a difference to the care our kitten received - and then she waited three hours to read it! Finally, had the doctor call us at 2:30am with the xray results, and an excuse as to why she had not returned our previous four calls stating that normally the matter is transferred over to the morning vet to contact us. Weird response when we had informed the staff repeatedly that we really wanted to know the results and were waiting anxiously, could not sleep, and were promised each time we called the vet would call. Dr. Browne also told us that because we hadn't approved their care plan our kitten might be discharged in the morning by the vet who was on staff before our regular vet could see him (he was at the emergency clinic in the morning for a shift and this is the reason we'd wanted to wait). He wasn't and we just picked him up at 7pm. My view is that this clinic is in business to make money and it shows. They provide a much needed service and there are some caring staff, but the focus on an expensive care plan comes at a cost to animal welfare imo. There is no doubt it is in the best interests of pets to have every type of testing, but there needs to be some adjustment to a reasonable budget without the attitude or pets that could be treated in a less extensive but precautionary manner are instead going to be euthanized when owners are presented with, as the patient care rep stated, "the gold standard care plan" in the thousands (and just to start) for a matter that could be managed in a more cost effective manner first. My feeling is this is a corporate directive couched as best interests of, and advocating for, animals. Fine line but definitely no attention to this matter from the vet, only the patient care coordinator seemed aware of this. I would also guess from the way our final $1270 bill for a one night stay and which still included items we had not authorized but didn't have the energy to contest, is divided, that the vets are being paid based on a percentage of billings in this clinic. Read Less