I'll never take an animal there again. I've been there twice, and once was a lackluster visit with a vet they let go, who did nothing but suggest blue green algae for limping, the other was an outrigh... Read More
I'll never take an animal there again. I've been there twice, and once was a lackluster visit with a vet they let go, who did nothing but suggest blue green algae for limping, the other was an outright disaster that left my animal limping worse than when I started out. The front staff, and gals that worked there were very nice. I called because I am new to the area, and someone recommended Dr. Koenig to me. The receptionist was kind, and got me in really quickly, so my husband and I took our cat in. My cat has some sort of injury, or something happening. He's old, and we were terrified of what might be going on with him. We got him in the car, and took him straight in. Everything was great with the staff, and the Dr. Koenig came in. Of course, my cat was not limping at that exact moment. Just like when you take a toddler in to the pediatrician. :)I tried to help with my cat, because he's huge, and can make noise like all hell when upset and not in my or my husbands hands. I tried to explain that, but Dr. Koenig told me to sit in a chair. I did. I assumed he knew what he was doing, and I trusted him to that. My cat gave a yowl. He does that more often than an actual meow on a normal day. Dr. Koenig backed off immediately, and told his assistant to go get the gloves and stuff. My cat has never had a problem with an exam before. By anyone. Hell, we have a picture of my cat with a full can of pepsi sitting on him because he's pretty easy going. The gal comes back with giant gardening gloves, a muzzle, two leashes, and they go back to my cat. The assistant looked hesitant during this, but the doc acted like my cat was some sort of five star disaster before he hardly began. I work with dementia patients, and if I don't know if it's the same for animals, but if I approached my patients so aggressively and brusquely, then they would have freaked. He manhandled my cat into a hood, then flipped him on the side, and tried to haul his foot out. My cat screamed, and howled. I've never heard him make noises like that before. They then wrapped my cat in a towel, and the doc kept trying to yank my cats foot straight. The doc got frustrated, and kept saying, "He's not going to let me examine him. There's nothing I can do." He was frustrated with the way it was going down. Meanwhile I am listening to my cat howl in pain. The doc gave him a cortisone shot. My cat howled again, and the doc said, "Oh, that didn't hurt him at all." I'm a nurse. Those shots hurt, if you've ever had them, you'll know what I'm talking about. He also assured me that there are absolutely no side effects to cortisone shots in cats. I don't know if that's true or not. My cat calmed as soon as they unwrapped him, and he was able to smell my husband and I. When we got him home, he was limping worse than he was when we started. We called back immediately, at 1500 to ask if that could be an effect of the cortisone shot. No call back. We called back at 5:40pm, they close at 6pm, and the gal on the phone said she chased the doc out the door, but he had gone. Now I have a cat, that's hurt. No diagnosis, no anything. I have to take him to another vet, now. I am scared this will have freaked him out so bad he'll never let another vet examine him easily again. I'll never go back. I got the impression the vet was pressed for time, and my cat got the brunt of it. I'm not beating myself up for even letting it happen.EDIT TO ADD:The vet called back the next afternoon. All calls were ignored until then. When told my cat was worse, he said that's not a big deal, and that's normal. We found out through other sources that my cat has an injured foot. The same foot Dr. Koenig had been hauling on to force my cat to straighten his leg. This is why my cat was more hurt after seeing the guy. It took days for my cat to stop limping. I've been recommended to go to Diamond vet, or Pilchuck animal hospital, since this incident. I sure won't ever take an animal back the Dr. Koenig again. Read Less