I took my two cats exclusively to this vet for two years. I never had a problem with the service until today, and it was serious enough that I NEVER take my cats back there.
In May 2019, we brought o... Read More
I took my two cats exclusively to this vet for two years. I never had a problem with the service until today, and it was serious enough that I NEVER take my cats back there.
In May 2019, we brought our 10-year-old cat for her annual check up and we were told she needed her teeth cleaned and a spot biopsy. This was stressful for us because of the cost ($851) and the risk of sedating an older cat, but we scheduled the procedure because it was in her best interest.
Prior to the procedure, I asked specifically who would be performing the procedure. We were assured it would be done by Dr. Jennifer Tsung (who owns the clinic) and we felt comfortable she would be handling it.
After picking up our cat after the procedure, I returned home and everything went from fine to horrifying. My cat had a bandage on her front leg the catheter. I took it off, but the catheter was still in her leg! The needle and tube was in her vein and hanging down, and her paw blood streaks that hadn't been cleaned off it! I didn’t know what to do! My cat was so shaken by the whole experience and by me trying to get a better look at the catheter, she starting running through the apartment, stepping on and jostling the catheter so it started leaking. Keep in mind, there was not a lot of blood, but there was smeared blood on her paw, on our floor, and on my arm--it was a shocking experience and caused major panic to see that.
My cat was very distressed going back into the carrier and on the long walk back to the vet, but there was no other option. When I got there, I told the receptionist and technician what had happened. While my cat was whisked away again to get the catheter taken out, the technician was trying to save face in front of other clients and brought me into an empty room to apologize for the error.
After my cat and I left the clinic (still distressed, but needle-free), my partner was upset to hear about the error (and that the vet herself didn’t even talk to me or apologize), he called the clinic. He was not angry, but he was firm and demanded to talk to Dr. Tsung. She apologized, but didn’t seem to take responsibility. When he talked to her, she disclosed we had been lied to by the receptionist: she did NOT perform the operation. In fact, to add insult to injury, during the phone conversation, she kept referring to our cat as a dog! How can you trust someone like that--someone who made a serious error (even if it was technician who didn’t take out the catheter, that’s her employee and she should be supervising)? How incredibly uncaring that she couldn’t even take a second to pull up our file to get the species of our pet right? Might I remind you, all this happened in a single day--it’s not like time went by and she may have forgotten the patient or the incident.
Please note that everyone I encountered was kind. They apologized. And I has to accept that because what else can I do in the moment? But they are simply not competent. My cat could have gone into shock from the needle and we were told she will have extra bruising because they forgot to take it out in a timely manner. I had already paid for the removal of my cat’s paw stitches in two weeks, but after that I will NEVER set foot in there again. It’s just not safe. My cats are too precious to me to leave them in the care of people who (1.) Lie to my face about who will be treating them just to make me feel more secure. (2.) Fail to remove a catheter from my cat, causing panic, stress, and inconvenience. (3.) Don’t even care enough in a critical conversation to get my pet’s species correct. Really? I just spent $851 and you can’t feign professionalism? It was THE most dysfunctional experience ever. Sorry, fool me once, shame on you. I won’t be sticking around for something to happen again. It’s simply not acceptable for my cat’s care. Read Less