Valley Veterinary Clinic

To Whom it May Concern,      You first presented [redacted] to us on 10/25/16 for an evaluation. On exam, moderate to severe periodontal disease was noted. In particular, his maxillary (upper) premolars were noted to likely need extraction. Bloodwork was recommended that day, to which you...

consented, and his bloodwork came back normal except for his previously noted chronic kidney disease. At this visit, you were given an estimate that I've attached to this complaint. The estimate includes pain medication, pre-operative bloodwork the day of, and fluids during anesthesia. We would love every animal to have all of these things under anesthesia, but they are optional to keep costs low for those who can't afford it. The charge for "Dental Cat Scale & Polish" is to clean the remainder of [redacted] teeth, which he needed and was included on the estimate. In our practice view, it would be unethical to put [redacted] under anesthesia for a tooth extraction and not scale and polish the remainder of his teeth if he needed it. At this point in time, we feel like the services provided match the estimate, and can't refund for this reason. Please contact us to discuss further. We are sorry for the miscommunication and how that may have made you feel. We have still not received a letter from you that you indicate you sent in this complaint. A voicemail was left on the phone number 206-954-6461 this morning regarding the matter.  Sincerely, Dr. Alex H[redacted]

In response to the complaints:1) I am not sure where the patient's nails were trimmed; he was seen at several veterinary clinics over the weekend and was sedated due to his aggressive nature.  I feel certain that if they were trimmed, it was while he was under sedation at one of the prior...

clinics and for the protection of the staff that had to handle him.  I cannot comment on how short they were trimmed as I was not able to observe his feet upon his check-in exam after the emergency clinic discharged him.2) No oral medication was given, again due to the patient's aggressive nature.  This is not a life-threatening issue as many veterinarians recommend NOT starting antibiotics until a urinary catheter is removed, as there is less chance of inducing a resistant bacterial infection at that time.  This patient was literally impossible for the staff here to medicate orally due to safety concerns with an aggressive animal.3) The urine bag was removed as the patient was actively charging us upon attempts to handle him or his bag and we deemed it easier to change towels as needed than to try to keep a closed urinary system functional in a non-cooperative patient.  This is standard in many clinics and I do not feel it was a breach of patient care.4) Injectable medications had to be given as oral medications could not safely be administered to this patient; unfortunately injectable medications are more expensive than oral ones in general.  For the safety of the staff and Drs. here, it was simply not possible to give the patient oral medications. 5) The client was unhappy with the situation and was given the option to take the pet elsewhere for care, and opted to do so.

Review: On Thursday 8/21/2014 I made a telephone veternarian appointment regarding follow up work with a cat. I had previously paid apx. $600 for dental work 2 weeks previously. When I called I told them my cat was throwing up and not eating correctly. The cat has never had issues. The business set up an appointment that day and was told it would be a re-check. There was no terms or price quoted over the phone and was under the assumption they would verify it was not due to the previous surgery. The doctor checked the dental work and temperature of the cat but was still unsure if her digestive problem was related. When leaving they told me my bill was almost $50. They said they performed a clinic check up. I was not told this over the phone or I would not have gone in. I was solely going in to make sure it was not a complication from the surgery which it still could be and plan on getting further opinion. I asked to speak to the manager and while waiting and talking the manager kept walking by and told he was too busy. After explaining my difference and waiting for the manager I remained calm but [redacted] the receptionist shouted at me to leave or she would call the cops as trespassing. I asked if she wanted me to pay and just directed me to leave which I did. I felt threatened and she did this in a very threatening manner. I also called and apologized and asked to speak to [redacted] and he would not return my call.Desired Settlement: I would like to resolve the bill whether it is zeroed out preferably or a bill sent to me. I do not appreciate being told to wait for the manager then being ignored by the manager then being threated by some secretary in a very disrespectful manner. Very very poor customer service. Had never had an issue with them previously.

this company orally tells people (me twice) - before any procedure on a pet - that necessary follow-ups are covered in the stated price, & that you must pre-pay before anything proceeds.

sounds good, so I signed & payed.

my cat needed a follow-up; BUT they charged $54.

I wrote them (snail mail) objecting, stating their oral promise; that they should honor it & not charge me, OR that IF they insisted on not honoring their oral statement I would pay half & take my future business elsewhere.

they never replied in any way, so I thought that was tacit agreement. 6 months later I get a collection notice from a collection company. to protect my credit I paid it, but wrote the vet clinic again complaining (by snail mail AND also to an employee's email), with no reply at all again !