If I could leave NO stars I would.
I want to share our family’s experience because we are heartbroken and have serious concerns about how an extremely vulnerable situation involving our Yorkie was handled.
Our dog became critically ill after getting into medication. Before coming to this clinic, we had already spoken with another veterinary clinic and were told that treatment could cost thousands of dollars, that she needed help immediately, and that her chances of making it were not good.
Because of what we had been told, we came into this clinic believing we were going to have to make the heartbreaking decision to put her to sleep. NOT because we didn’t love her. NOT because we didn’t want her. And NOT because our family was simply unwilling to pay for her care. We genuinely believed she was suffering, might not survive, and that we were running out of options.
Once we arrived, the staff encouraged us not to put her to sleep. We were told that if we surrendered our rights to her, they could treat her. We were also told that we would be able to check on her and see how she was doing until she was adopted.
My mother is the actual owner of our Yorkie, and she was at work while all of this was happening. She was trying to make an extremely emotional, permanent decision while working and believing her dog could be dying.
What we needed was TIME.
If we had known that she had a reasonable chance of surviving, we needed time to contact our family, explain what was happening, and see how much money everyone could put together toward her treatment. We were not asking for free veterinary care. We were trying to make decisions based on the information we had at that moment.
Instead, we surrendered her because we believed that was the way to make sure she received immediate treatment rather than putting her to sleep.
Then, by the VERY NEXT MORNING, we were told that the groomer who worked at the clinic had taken our dog home and decided to adopt her.
That completely changed how we felt about what had happened.
We went from believing our dog might not survive and surrendering her so that she could receive treatment, to finding out within hours that an employee of the clinic had taken her home.
We were specifically told that we could check on her UNTIL SHE WAS ADOPTED. We never imagined that “until she was adopted” could mean that by the very next morning, the clinic’s own groomer would already have taken her home.
Had my mother been told, “She has a reasonable chance of surviving, but treatment will cost this amount,” and been given a reasonable opportunity to contact family and gather the money, she may NEVER have surrendered her.
That is what hurts.
Our dog was never unwanted. We were never looking to give her away. We walked into that clinic thinking we were about to lose her and made a desperate decision because we wanted her to LIVE.
We understand that surrender paperwork was signed, and we understand that paperwork has legal consequences. But that does not erase our questions about the circumstances surrounding that decision or the incredibly short timeline between surrendering our dog and an employee of the clinic taking her home.
When was it determined that she was likely to survive? What treatment did she receive? When did the groomer express interest in taking her? Was there already interest in her before we signed the surrender paperwork? When was the decision made that she could leave with the groomer? Why were we told we could check on her until adoption if she was going to be taken home by someone from the clinic almost immediately?
We came there during one of the most desperate moments a pet owner can experience. We thought we were going to have to say goodbye forever. When another option was presented that could SAVE her life, we took it.
We just wish our family had been given the opportunity, information, and time to see what we could do to save her AND bring her back home.
My eldest cat Gabby developed a mass on her mouth. It was malignant. She had to be put down. Dr. Beard was great! The staff was compassionate. They don't overcharge for visits and procedures. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.
We have been with this vet for 18 years. They have seen both of our family dogs which we entrusted to them. When my dog needed them the most they could not tend to him due to not having an appt. I tried to make one in the early hours of the morning but the website crashed and I couldn’t continue the process but apparently he had one and when I called to see if they could take him they were too busy. “provides compassionate emergency care” as it says on their website under emergencies . They were not compassionate in the slightest and we had to look else where. We had insurance and they even had him as a VIP which did not help in our case. Even the last time he went they tried dragging him off with a slip lead away from me which he did not like and instead of letting me come in they kept trying to drag him away from me. Unfortunately my beautiful baby Toscano passed due to something he had in his stomach which we didn’t get a chance to find out before he departed. When we called to cancel his insurance since it was no longer needed they had zero care zero compassion and didn’t even ask why we were cancelling. We received better compassion, love and support from CHEWY who we had only used for 4 years than from this vet that we’ve trusted for the last 18 years. I will never trust this vet with any of my family members again.
