For us, the best thing about SCAH is their techs and office staff. We have been customers for over 30 years between our 2 very long lived dogs and the techs have always been the most caring, kind, gen... Read More
For us, the best thing about SCAH is their techs and office staff. We have been customers for over 30 years between our 2 very long lived dogs and the techs have always been the most caring, kind, gentle and capable people. However, our experience with the veterinarians has been spotty. There are so many, it can get confusing and we have received different advice for the same issue from various vets. Some advice worked better than others. .While they were caring and kind with our pets, I believe they fell short of the mark when we brought our 17+ year old dog in because she had stopped eating. Blood work showed that her kidney and liver values were extremely elevated (about 5x normal) and her thyroid level was very low. Her pancreas levels were also twice the norm. Additionally, she had lost 17 pounds over 10 months and she was having trouble walking and getting up. The advice we got was to have them hydrate her, give medicine for nausea in case that was why she wasn't eating. They also suggested we try a different prescription food than the one we had been giving her. The tests, office visit, subcutaneous fluids, meds and 1 can of dog food (yes, they actually charged us for that!) came to almost $450. When she seemed worse the next day, they suggested that I learn how to give her fluids and that they could add a couple of other prescriptions that might help. I took her in that day and spent another $180 which included 3 bags of fluid to take home. The following day, yesterday, she didn't seem better and I began to question the value of the recommended treatment. I called the office and asked the vet about the likelihood of a 17 year old dog recovering her organ function. I was told that they couldn't make an accurate prognosis without a $230 ultrasound of her kidneys and liver. She said it could take up to a month for the organs to recover (which would require bloodwork every week or so) and asked if I could "afford the time." At that point it felt like they were trying to get as much money from us as they possibly could before my dog died. I realized that it was time to think about euthanasia- even if Miko's condition improved, she still wouldn't be able to walk. I read about at home euthanasia, SCAH gave me the number of Peaceful Pets and last night Miko passed peacefully at home with us. I feel the hospital did us a huge disservice in their advice. While I understand that they couldn't tell us what to do, I feel that they should have been more realistic in their diagnosis. Their advice made me feel guilty about doing what was obviously right for my wonderful pet instead of guiding me to the best decision for her. If we should ever get another pet, we will find a different vet. Read Less