Caring Hearts Animal Clinic, oh what a pleasure. Wait, one star but still a pleasure? Well good readers, I lie. My wife and I moved to this area and began searching for vets. From reviews, Caring ... Read More
Caring Hearts Animal Clinic, oh what a pleasure. Wait, one star but still a pleasure? Well good readers, I lie. My wife and I moved to this area and began searching for vets. From reviews, Caring Hearts seemed like a good idea. I have taken 4 animals to this vet, with very poor results. The first up is my Siamese cat. He is older and has anal gland issues. We took him here and they explained the symptoms and time frame to bring him in to express his glands. They also stated if we brought him in and expressing was unnecessary, there would be no charge. I scheduled an appointment and again verified the cost associated. I brought him in at the recommended time to be told expressing was not needed. I was then told I owed for a visit due to length of time from his last 'physical.' I paid this, assuming it was a simple misunderstanding. The next week his anal gland burst, which required an additional (alternate) vet visit.I then brought in my other cat who had gotten ring worm from a stray cat we were fostering. The vet almost immediately said "Yup, that's ringworm," changed his tone and replied "this test will just make sure" and grabbed a test without hesitation or asking if we would like the test to be done. Combining the fact the foster cat had already been diagnosed with ringworm, something the vet knew, plus you could visually see it on our cat, and the vet's confirmation statement are solid enough facts to not need a test. Upon checkout, this was a test that cost almost $100. It sure would have been nice to have been informed, or at least asked if we wanted to run the test immediately after the veterinarian confirmed ringworm.Now I just seem like a masochist but most of the staff seemed friendly enough to deal with these problems, which were adding up quickly. Our dog had a lump on her ear which seemed to be getting bigger. We went for an examination and it was determined that removing it would be best. As this is a pug, there was an immediate concern of a surgery. The surgery was completed and things seemed fine. When the swelling went down, it was easy to notice the stitches were in a different spot then where the lump was, and the lump was still there. A follow up call provided answers of this being scar tissue. When removing stiches, scar tissue and/or inflammation was again provided as an answer. We were told to watch it and come back if needed. The bump persisted so Caring Hearts was called again. While making the appointment, we were told we would not be pay anything as it was a follow up to a surgery. My wife clarified this as we would have rather spent out money elsewhere at this point.The day of the checkup I received a call stating I had missed my appointment. The scheduler put the appointment for early in the morning instead of at 4:30 as was agreed upon when my wife scheduled it. A call to the vet allowed them to 'squeeze us in' at 4:20 because our appointment was apparently no longer valid. This is just an example of the level of disorganization in that office, but that is another story entirely.The checkup came and there were little answers about the lump. The veterinarian stated he was the one who did the surgery and remembers it, but we now got a different description of what was removed. I realize I am upset, but this made it seem as if something was done improperly or not done at all. Upon leaving, we were greeted with a $35 bill. When a response similar to "I am not paying this" was uttered, the cashier went to get the veterinarian we saw. He came out and we began probing for information regarding this charge as again, we were told on the phone there would not be a charge because it is a surgery follow up. The veterinarian at this point seemed annoyed and never did answer the question. I am fully aware that a $35 bill when taking your pet to the vet is very small compared to what you normally spend, but when we asked what we were being charged for, an answer was never given. The vet immediately stated, "Let's do this, we will just send all of your pets records to your new vet and you can be done here." The vet then turned to the receptionist and in front of us said to her "Go ahead and mark their accounts as inactive." We asked a very simple question in a calm manner, with frustration maybe, but no anger. The fact that no one in that office could or would answer is ridiculous.Although changing back to our old vet had already happened at this point, being made to feel as if we were banned from a vet's office is very concerning. All that is left now from Caring Hearts are (paid) bills totaling over $1000 in services rendered that were misstated, not performed correctly, and unasked for. This only factors in the amount of the most recent events described. The total amount they have received from us is astounding when I factor in the extremely poor level of service we received from them.Do not take your pets here. Read Less