They’ve started using AI to answer the phones and it’s incredibly difficult to work with. I MUCH preferred talking to someone at the front desk for scheduling and questions. I know answering phone calls is annoying, but as a customer I would rather patiently wait on hold to talk to someone knowledgeable in the field, and who can genuinely help me, than an AI bot. I told the AI bot I wanted to speak to someone, and it tried to redirect me. It didn’t even give me an option to wait on hold, it just rung a couple times then sent me back to the AI bot. Love the vets that work here, have been going here for 10 years, and I trust the technicians and doctors fully. I hate the new AI adaption.
Allow me to preface this review by stating that this is directed solely at Dr. Carolyn Bonfield, NOT the practice as a whole. The other doctors on staff, the techs and all other employees that I've encountered have been great.
My dog, Slate, began vomiting shortly before midnight on a Sunday evening and continued through the night. I called the office first thing Monday morning at 7am and spoke to Loretta (who is wonderful btw), explained what was going on, and she didn't hesitate to put Slate on the schedule at 9:30am. I actually had him there at 8:30 as I was so concerned, and they wasted no time in getting him back and starting an exam. The tech asked me several questions, made notes, and a short while later Dr. Bonfield came in. Suggested xrays and bloodwork. Per Dr. Bonfield, the xrays did not show any type of blockage, but the bloodwork showed elevated levels across the board. She stated that due to his extremely high heart rate, which she said was a result of dehydration, she wanted to keep him to administer IV fluids, which I agreed with. As hard as it was to leave my baby there, I trusted that he would be well attended to. I left the office at 9:50am on the dot. At 4:30 I called the office to check on him, Dr. Bonfield said that his heart rate had come down and I could come pick him up, she also stated that he showed signs of discomfort in his abdomen, so she administered a pain med in his IV which has cause him to pant heavily. I asked if she found what the culprit was, to which she responded it "COULD be HEG, or it COULD just be an inflamatory bowel issue". I asked if she ran another blood panel to check his levels, but she stated "the levels would not change in that short amount of time", which I thought was strange, but again, trusted that she knew what she was doing. She did inform me that she did another set of xrays, but it still showed nothing. She stated that she would send him home with an antibiotic, anti-nausea, and pain prescription to start giving to him the following morning. I drove to the office and picked him up at 5:15. When I picked him up he was indeed panting, but the tech assured me it was a result of the pain meds.
Once we got home, I tried to make him as comfortable as possible, but he still appeared to be in rough shape. I kept a lookout for the signs that Dr. Bonfield told me to keep an eye out for (diarrhea, vomiting, or no appetite by morning), none of which happened. Shortly after 1:00am, my sweet boy passed away. I am still devastated. Hoping for some sort of answer, I called the office first thing asking to speak to Dr. Bonfield... she came on the phone and said verbatim "I'm sorry, I didn't expect that to happen." Of all things to say, that was the best she could come up with. No compassion, no remorse whatsoever.
I demanded to get a copy of the xrays, both pre and post. Once I finally received them, I was shocked to see that the post xrays DID NOT EVEN INCLUDE THE LOWER HALF OF HIS ABDOMEN. So she sent him home with no diagnosis, shotty xrays, no urinalysis (which couldn't be done due to his dehydration) and no second set of bloodwork. I was FINALLY able to hear from one of the other vet's on staff after several attempts to speak to one of them, and he agreed that there were steps that could have been taken that weren't, and had they been there is a chance my sweet boy would still be here.
In conclussion, if you choose to go to this practice, please do NOT allow Dr. Bonfield to treat your babies.
