On Saturday, May 26th, 2018, my boyfriend and I took a stray cat that we are taking care of to the Bedford Animal Hospital for an injured paw. My boyfriend was told that if we arrived by 11:15 am, we ... Read More
On Saturday, May 26th, 2018, my boyfriend and I took a stray cat that we are taking care of to the Bedford Animal Hospital for an injured paw. My boyfriend was told that if we arrived by 11:15 am, we would not have to pay the afterhours fee which is around $70.00 additional to the normal vet visit pricing (they close at 12:00 pm on Saturdays and understandably have an afterhours fee). Upon arrival to this vet, we noticed there was a calf laying down in the back of someone's truck, visibly suffering from some form of illness. We asked the owner about the animal and he was unsure what was wrong, but said that he was waiting for the vet. Upon arriving into the vet's office, we were told that we needed to be there by 11:00 am to not pay the afterhours fee, not 11:15 am (which is when we arrived). They had us wait for around 20 minutes while checking to see if they could waive this fee, and in the end, they were not willing the wave the fee in order to help an injured stray animal. While we were there we encountered another displeased customer and another customer whom said he had been waiting since 9:00 am that morning for his dog to be seen! During this time of us waiting I kept looking outside to see if the calf in the truck had been helped yet, and he/she had not. Upon us leaving this vets office (as we were not going to pay an additional fee of that nature when we could go to the Emergency Vet if needed for cheaper), I inquired with the front desk worker if they were going to help the calf outside, and she said that they were waiting for an opening. I let her know that assisting the calf was top priority and we left. My boyfriend and I witnessed a dog being taken back to have its nails clipped before this poor calf was assisted. When we left, the calf was still suffering inside of the back of the owner's truck, who was patiently waiting with his calf friend, trying to keep him comfortable. A company whom truly cares about animals would never allow an animal to suffer for that long, regardless of if other people had appointments first. A suffering animal ALWAYS comes first, and I will not be returning to an office whom does not value an animal's life and quality of life first. A suggestion for this company would be to no longer accept walk ins, and to only accept appointments and emergency walk ins. When you accept any kind of walk in, that is when you begin to become over-crowded and are unable to assist the animals who truly need your assistance, in a timely manner. I am sure there are good vets as a part of this business (as we were dealing with the front staff), but the vets play the most important role in making sure that this business is being run to assist animals in the most humane and fair way. I hope to see changes in this company in the future, for the betterment of ALL animals (suffering and non-suffering), who do not have a voice, but need your help. Read Less