We had a bizarre experience. The following is our true experience at Advanced Animal Clinic in Richmond, KY. It is owned by Jim and/or John Martin.
The people we encountered are: Bridgett Maynard, a... Read More
We had a bizarre experience. The following is our true experience at Advanced Animal Clinic in Richmond, KY. It is owned by Jim and/or John Martin.
The people we encountered are: Bridgett Maynard, a vet technician; Dr. Cynthia Clark Boynton, the veterinarian who examined Lewis; Jamie House, the office manager; and Dr. Allison Conner, a veterinarian who consulted on the case.
We would NOT recommend Advanced Animal Care and this "family owned" business to anyone. Advanced Animal Care in Berea and Waco Animal Hospital are owned by the same people.
We took our cat, Lewis, in because he was sick. We told them about how we basically thought it might be one of three things:
Lyme disease because of the ticks. The most recent tick was hard to get out and Lewis still had a lump on his neck from it. It had been about two weeks since I had pulled it out and we were worried that the head of the tick may have remained and was starting all over in Lewis’s body. (Dr. Cynthia Clark didn't feel anything because Lewis was a "fluffy guy.")
The salamander. We have seen Lewis eat many gross things over the years, and he never had an upset stomach. We thought that maybe the fattiness of the salamander had not digested and perhaps was stuck in Lewis’s digestive tract. We wondered if the salamander had secretions that were toxic and had irritated Lewis. We just didn’t know. (Dr. Cynthia Clark noted that his abdomen was SOFT.)
We thought Lewis might have had an inner ear infection. We truly were always cleaning out his ears. Literally, his ears were “waxy” almost every day. (Dr. Cynthia Clark, in all of her professionalism and expertise - 700 dollars worth - didn’t even check Lewis's ears with an otoscope.)
They suggested expensive tests before the doctor ever examined him. The doctor, Dr. Cynthia Clark - she may go by Dr. Cynthia Clark Boynton, finally said that Lewis looked okay for his age, he was missing some back molars and a canine-that was normal for Lewis’s age and the fact that he did spend a lot of time outside hunting. She said, overall, she couldn’t find anything wrong with Lewis. I asked her if she felt the nodule on Lewis’s neck that the last tick bite had left. She said she didn’t feel it in her examination, but said “Lewis was a fluffy/furry guy.” ??? I asked if she thought Lewis could have an obstructed intestinal/gestational tract. She didn’t seem to think so. She noted that his abdomen was soft. I asked her how his ears were. She said they were fine. I asked if she saw a lot of wax deep within and she said, "I DIDN'T LOOK AT THEM WITH AN OTOSCOPE." On Monday, we took Lewis to Berea Animal Hospital where the doctor said Lewis's abdomen WASN'T soft, but he had a palpable mass - the doctor could feel it with his hands - the size of a key lime. Lewis had surgery the following day and we said goodbye to him because his mass was spread throughout his stomach area and we did not want him to suffer.
Advanced Animal Care initially charged us over $700 to say they couldn't find anything wrong with Lewis except his elevated white blood cell count. They did bloodwork, a SNAP test, and gave him an antibiotic shot. They said his abdomen WAS SOFT. Two days later when Dr. Long felt the mass with his hands, I called Advanced Animal Care to start a dispute on the charges. Dr. Allison Conner said this:
DR. LONG WAS ONLY ABLE TO FEEL THE MASS WITH THE HANDS (as opposed to Dr. Cynthia Clark Boynton) BECAUSE HE IS INSANELY TALENTED.
Advanced Animal Care did refund us $212, but I am disputing the remainder.
In the days that followed, I called all three clinics in an effort to speak with an owner. I left messages, but no response. A couple of days later, I received a letter from Advanced Animal Care stating that their decision was final and for me to NOT CALL THEIR CLINIC AGAIN. It was signed by Jamie House, the office manager of the Richmond location.
Do not trust your babies with these people. We never will again. Read Less