Town & Country Veterinary Clinic, P.C.

Review: I called Town and Country Vet. in Christiansburg, Va to see if they offered emergency services. They said they did and to bring my dog in asap. They told me on the phone it would be $95 for the emergency visit unless I wanted to wait for the 8:15 appt. I told them I could not wait my dog was passing only blood and had been doing so while I was gone to the store and I had no idea and he needed to be seen immediately. She said she would tell the vet we were on our way. We got there and were given paperwork and an employee took [redacted] (our dog) and said they were going to listen to his heart and take his temp. After a few minutes they came and got us and took us back to the room he was in and left. After about 10 minutes another employee came in and said they were going to test him for parvo virus and they took the samples which we asked wouldn't our other dogs be sick if that was what it was and they said no. After another period of time the vet finally made an appearance never touching [redacted] just telling us that he was serious and needed to be put in the ICU overnight for testing and that would cost $700-$1,000. I told her we could not afford that and she recommended I apply for a credit card to pay for it. When I said we would not be approved she never offered any treatment for [redacted] she just left the room. Her not even offering to test him for anything else while we were there only put him in ICU or nothing. They still had no clue what was wrong with him. He was still passing pure blood I told them and showed them this and the vet just said I told you he was serious and left the room. Later they come back offering to give me IV fluids and medicine to take home and give him and of course I said yes they had to tell me it was going to be $328 first and I agreed and we had to wait for them to type out a form with the price I owed on it and me sign it before they would even start getting meds ready for him. We had been there an hour and a half with him bleeding and they have still physically done NOTHING. No IV fluids no other tests, no xrays NOTHING he has just been laying there losing blood for an hour and a half. They still have no clue what is wrong and are going to send him home with meds. We wait for these meds another 30 -45 minutes they come in and tell us they have not forgotten us they are warming his fluids as he lays there. They finally proceed to give him the iv fluids under the skin fast squeezing the bag to speed up the process then she gives him a shot then she gives him a dose of white medicine by mouth and which point he becomes unresponsive with his tongue hanging out and his eyes now closed. She continues to force 2 more doses of medicine down his throat and I mean force while he is lifeless. As soon as she leaves I grab him from my daughter and call his name and he won't move or open his eyes at all at which time I know he is passing away as she was continuing to force him meds. We call for help and they grab him and say we need to do CPR that costs money do you want us to still do it. Of course I say yes. They come back and say the humane thing to do is put him down and I ask to take him home to pass because he is breathing on his own and the vet sternly says if you are at the hospital passing blood you don't get released to go home. Well wasn't that what they were just getting ready to do after giving him all those meds?? Sending him home with us??? This was NEVER treated as an EMERGENCY yet we paid an EMERGENCY price . They never rushed to help him one single time. We were there for almost 2 hours before he ever got any medicine or fluids. My God when you go to the hospital that is the first thing they do is start an IV and knowing he had been losing blood shouldn't that have been a top priority. It was not. It even said ER on the door of our room but we never got that service and they did not care for him in a timely manner at all. All they seemed concerned with was the money. If we were not going to put him in the ICU they were not going to do any further testing. How did they know what meds to send him home with then?? If they had started fluids as soon as we arrived he might have had a chance at surviving. [redacted] was like one of my children and they let him lay there and die like that was not bad enough they were forcing medicine down his throat as he was dying and saying I know it tastes bad little boy it is ok NO It is not he was unconscious and she had no clue. I knew that and I am no vet's assistant. What kind of place is this. After we had our last visit with him they were so uncompassionate they said drive home safe. Really I am leaving without my baby I came in with trusting you all knew how to help him and you just want me to drive home safe. After they took him back and did CPR and he was breathing on his own they would not even let us see him until the final bill was calculated for me. How kind huh?? If they really wanted to care for him they could have done so much more and the money would never have played a part. They could have offered us a payment plan or said do not worry about they money we can deal with that after we get [redacted] better. But NO WAY was that happening. So here we are lost and totally broken hearted when it could have been prevented by some compassion and common sense and professionalism minus the piddling, greed and carelessness. I have since heard from several others how they have had terrible money hungry experiences also at this place so I should have never went but with them being the only vets office with emergency care offered you are at their mercy which leaves you in a bad spot and left us in a lonely, sad and lost spot.Desired Settlement: Nothing can stop the pain we are going through right now. I truly wish something could. We miss our [redacted] sooo badly. We want their staff to admit they were in the wrong, that they handled this whole situation WRONG in so many ways and we want a refund. We should not have to pay for their mistakes and our heartbreak.

Business

Response:

Dear Customer,

I have read your recent complaint to Revdex.com regarding the loss of your

dog, [redacted]. As you know I was not the attending doctor to your dog the night he

presented so ill. I do however own the practice and I did review your pet's

medical records. I did speak to several staff members including the attending

veterinarian regarding your visit and the loss of your pet. First of all, I am

very sorry for your loss. It is extremely hard to loose a pet, especially when

they are so young.

That all being said, I do not feel the clinic neglected your dog. The

veterinarian had examined your dog when he was taken to the back of the clinic

to check his vitals. So when she presented herself into the exam room to discuss

a treatment plan with you about [redacted], the veterinarian had already examined

your pet. It was recommended to you that [redacted] needed intensive care based on

physical exam findings and a verbal estimate was given to you for that care. He

needed more care than just intravenous fluids. He needed diagnostic tests,

including blood work and/or radiographs. He needed to be hospitalized. It was

discussed with you that he may not survive even with extensive treatment. You

declined intensive care treatment due to lack of available funds. Euthanasia

was discussed as an option to you due to the pet's condition.

You are correct in that you spent over an hour in the clinic deciding

which route to take regarding treatment of your pet. During this time, [redacted]

was treated with subcutaneous fluids, and was given an injection to help settle

his stomach and an antibiotic injection with the intent that you would be taking

him home because you could not hospitalize or euthanize. The liquid medication

that was given to [redacted] was a dextrose solution. [redacted] then arrested in the exam

room and was taken back to the treatment area where CPR was initiated. Again

euthanasia was discussed with you as pet's condition was grave.

I understand and respect that you are terribly upset about the

unexpected loss of your pet but your [redacted] was extremely ill when he presented

to the clinic, and his prognosis was poor for survival based on just physical

exam findings. He needed extensive veterinary care, more than just intravenous

fluids. We are staffed and equipped to care for most small animal emergencies,

however the financially responsibility for that care falls on the owners. And

if owner's cannot afford treatment and the pet's condition is guarded for

survival often euthanasia is the most humane option.

Unfortunately, the clinic is not supported by the state,

donations or any other funds and it is a privately owned busines,s and finances

must be discussed even at the most difficult times.

Again, I do sympathize with your loss of your pet,

[redacted], DVM

Town and Country Veterinary Clinic, Owner

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The information in their response is incorrect regardless of whom they say they spoke with. She is right she was not there so she does not know,Euthanasia was not discussed with us until [redacted] had arrested. We did not spend an hour trying to make a decision we spent an hour waiting for the vet to give us some options and offer some care for him. There was no IV started until we had been there well over an hour and that was to send him home. They were still pumping meds down his throat when he arrested and she did not even know. The business could have offered us a payment plan but they were all about all the money right then not the treatment of the anlmal. I have text messages and phone call logs proving how long we waited to be seen and what was offered at what time. I also have my daughters that were right there as this happened. This business has offered nothing in their response to us. This is unacceptable. We got no emergency treatment. It was slow and insufficient. This response is worth nothing. Pointless.

Regards,

I am the CEO of a national non profit dog rescue. This facility ordered over $600.00 worth of procedures that one of my foster dogs did not need. The Vet, Dr. Wolly admitted to her mistake and advised of a refund, but it has been 3 months and I am still waiting. Imagine ripping off a non profit dog rescue? Who does that?

Review: On May 1, 2013, I spoke to a receptionist about leaving my dog for one night on May 3, 2013. She said there was availability and that my dog was up to date. My wife takes him because I am at school. When she drops him off, they tell her that they have to do a fecal test in order to keep, which had they told me ahead of time I could have taken him elsewhere. She leaves him and tells them I will pay when picking him up. Needless to say, I am pretty furious because I had asked about this on Wednesday because every time I had taken him before, they come up with something he needs (they had also tried to re-give him rabies shot three times before and every time I gave them paperwork). They would not let me have my dog without paying for this test that was "absolutely" required for them to keep him. They call me the following Monday to tell me the test came back and he was fine. This is even more frustrating because this means the "required" test didn't matter because they kept him without even knowing the results; any damage would have been the same. Also, I decided to write a review on Google Reviews and see that multiple other people had similar occurrences. This prompted me to come here because its not right that they keep doing this to people.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for the fecal test because it is obvious he didn't need it because they didn't even get results till the next week.

Business

Response:

I am sorry to hear that your recent experience at Town and Country Veterinary Clinc caused you so much grief. As the owner of Town and Country of 20 years, I definitely do want owners to walk away so upset. That being said, yes, it is our policy that all boarding dogs have a recent fecal result within 6 months of boarding. Your little dog's last fecal at our clinic was on 7/11/12. I would agree that you should have been informed of this on the telephone when you called to make the reservations, for this, I do apologize. In an ideal situation it would be best to have a fecal test performed and the pet treated for any parasites 4 to 5 days prior to boarding. We do have a common walking and play are for all of the dogs that are boarded and we do our best to keep the area clean and free of parasites now and for the future boarders. It is also recommended by the AVMA that all dogs and cats be checked every 6 months for internal parasites for their health as well as to help protect against zoonotic infections. Given that your pet came in on a Friday to board, the lab results were not returned to us until Monday when you were promptly called of the negative result of your fecal. Regarding your rabies vaccination concerns, Beaux was not vaccinated for rabies by Town and Country, but another facility. Our records within our computer system does not show a rabies vaccine given to him. There are alerts in our system and I will need to encourage the staff to review this more closely in the future. I do not mind refunding your $22.00 for the fecal test because you did not expect this additional charge on top of your one night of boarding fee of $23.00. I am sorry that you felt that contacting the Revdex.com and writing negative reviews on Google was your best form of communicating your concerns about my practice. I would hope in the future if any problems arise that you would directly contact myself or my office manager directly. Thank you, Kelly Burdette, DVM Owner Hospital DirectorTown and Country Veterinary Clinic

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. Regards, [redacted]