Finding a good animal hospital is important. So, the question is, what makes a "good" animal hospital? The definition of good is to be desired or approved of. Meeting the criteria for desire and appro... Read More
Finding a good animal hospital is important. So, the question is, what makes a "good" animal hospital? The definition of good is to be desired or approved of. Meeting the criteria for desire and approval in my opinion is lead with expertise and moral compensation. When I say expertise and moral compensation what I am referring to is a company's talent and if the company's pricing and fair. My review will be based off both of those characteristics and how the company has made me feel based off the two principles of "good."I will start off by saying Rialto Animal Hospital is top notch in their care. They seem to be very well versed in their care and good at what they do (based off a consumer standpoint). My family (my mom, step-father, all our pets, and I) have been utilizing their services for quite some time, but most recently as our luck should have it... As a child, I was always hurt from one sport or another, now that I am grown, our pets seem to have taken my place. Most recently, a small terroir that joined my family after my military service in 2008 was mauled by another dog. Franticly of course we got Foxy (the wirehair terrier) to Rialto Animal Hospital with prayers that she'd be ok. I'm sure as you can guess, when you are hurting because of a family member being in bad shape, all you want if for that family member to be ok. We were quoted $1600 to put her back together. Because I am a disabled veteran and in daily therapy for some serious mental issues related to my overseas deployment I had to get my mom involved to help cover the bill. My mom having better credit but not having the funds either (it's been a rough year for all of us because of a lot of my issues and her own) the front desk workers had my mom apply for a Care Credit account. With great luck and great skill Rialto Animal Hospital was able put Foxy back together for a complete turnaround. The frustration there (which I've encountered before in a similar situation with something like Care Credit) the quote of $1600 was requoted after my mom's $3500 approval with Care Credit. Somehow, some-way, not surprised, the original quote of $1600 was a bit off apparently as they upped the bill to around $3475, $25 under the max credit line and clearly almost half of what the original quote was. Coincidence? I prefer to think not to be honest. I have had this happen to me with another company. Today, I brought in my PTSD Assistant Service Dog, Crystal, who is a Bull Nose American Terrier Pitbull, for a checkup. I have been concerned because she started her heat last week and her genital area has swollen so much that it makes her uncomfortable. Not to mention me uncomfortable as it's like a freaking landing pad. It's huge. You get the point. Now, Crystal, is far more to me then a service dog, a pet, a family member, she is my best friend. I turned to drug use after Iraq (long story) and have battled hiding my emotions and issues since my return from deployments. Last May I decided I was done running from my issues with drugs and that I was tired of life. Crystal was my savior. If it wasn't for Crystal helping and showing me that I have value; that I'm special; that I'm worthy of life, I wouldn't be here today. This is what led to this review. One, myself being a disable veteran, in a situation like this it's easy to take advantage of my wanting Crystal to be tended to. Two, knowing this as I've had discussions with staff about her being a service dog for my PTSD and my veteran status. Three, I shouldn't feel taken advantage of. I was informed that the swelling in her womanhood wasn't life threatening. They did suggest that her heat's swelling could likely be worse, suggesting we get her spayed, nothing special just a standard spay. Mind you when I got Foxy spayed it came to around $190. This time, after having a plethora of extra charges, including a $59 microchip fee. If you go to PetSmart on certain days, it's only $10! Long story short their quote was $536 which included an option but suggested "culture" to ensure blood work comes back good before the spay. Felt more like them taking advantage of the fact that I just want my best friend to be ok. Shouldn't the culture cost already be factored into the cost of the surgery if it's really that important? Feels more like a way to add in an extra cost. This brings me to the 4 factors of my review: their expertise seems to be knowledgeable and skilled; their moral compensation seems to excessively take advantage of the need in pet care. As well, the principles of "good:" there is a clear desire for their skill as a talented animal hospital, but the approval in my opinion is in question. I am confident that there are other animal hospitals out there that are equal in hospitality and skill that won't seem to take advantage of their service with their extreme cost and inconstant quotes. Overall, I'm very unpleased with the multiple encounters of their billing and will be looking for a new place. Read Less