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Westport Animal Hospital Reviews (3)

Complaint:
I am rejecting this response because:
A primary concern that I have, as a pet caretaker and as a medical professional myself, is that the issue of the alteration of the medical records by Westport Animal Hospital was never addressed or responded toThis is a very serious matter and I addressed the details of this in my complaintThere was no room for misinterpretation - clearly the records were altered and *** *** from *** ** *** is willing to testify to this charge Secondly, *** *** made it clear to the veterinarian that this cat was being cared for by me - for over one year where I took meticulous care of this animal - feeding him inside my home and providing him with shelter outside in order to protect him from the harsh winter Yet, Westport Animal Hospital refers to me as the "grieving pet owner" when it is convenient for them to do so and, in the same statement, refer to the at as a "stray" and a "feral cat" in order to absolve themselves of any responsibility for this poor sweet animal According to *** she told the office that the cat lived at my address " Drumlin Road" and was being cared for by a very caring animal lover - yet this office refers to him as "stray32Drumlin" This speaks volumes in and of itself
When I called the veterinarian's office on the very same day the cat, Sweetie Pie, died so that I could know how much I owed them, I was told by DrFrank that "this was a very sick cat"
Never did DrFrank tell *** that the cat had enlarged lymph nodes or dental disease -nor did he tell her that the cat was very sick He simply told her that he had severe conjunctivitisIt is easy to say that felines are "stoic" animals but there is no suggestion in what DrFrank says that this cat would have died from any of those causes In addition, DrFrank never told me in either of our conversations that he did not himself care for the cat! He had many opportunities to tell me this and the only time I found out that there was another veterinarian involved was when I received ONE single phone call from the other dr- not, as the statement states, multiple phone callsAgain, this is an untruth that was told by DrFrank.
Further, *** from *** ** *** told me that *** who works in the front office, was the person who checked on the status of the cat who had been anesthetized! I would be interested in knowing what qualifies her to assess the recovery of a cat coming out of anesthesia! This is irresponsible and shows absolutely no compassion for what they clearly think of as a "stray" They showed further disregard for this cat also in that they only left *** one voice message that day - in the late morning after the cat had died - the only message they left her was to ask her to call the office When *** clearly did not get this message, they did not attempt to contact her again It was only when I called later in the day to ask how much I owed them that I found out that my beloved cat had died I take strenuous objection as a caring person and a nurse practitioner for over years that this is an office that shows no responsibility whatsoever for what happened and who actually altered their medical records to protect themselves How can I ever rely on anything this Drhas to say regarding this matter given the backpedaling of DrFrank and the alteration of medical records.
This was a cat who found a home with me - I fed him and cared for him in all ways throughout a harsh unforgiving winter I will continue to advocate and care for this cat after he died in an untimely way by a veterinarian's office who clearly gave him no regard or importance He was not a "stray" and I do not accept the inadequate and response given by Westport Animal Hospital
Sincerely,
Diane Johnston

Westport
w:st="on">Animal Hospital
Post Road East
Westport, CT
Phone ###-###-####
Fax ###-###-####
First and foremost, it is
with deepest sympathies that we reflect on this unfortunate loss. At WestportAnimalHospital
the death of any animal deeply affects us as we maintain the oath taken by
veterinarians to above all else do no harm.
The cat in question was
presented to us by a rescue organization, Animals in Distress, who
regularly handle stray cats. It was given the working
name “Stray Drumland”. The cat was feral enough that it needed to
be trapped in order to be brought in, and it was not current on its Rabies
vaccination. Despite its behavior with his caretaker, the cat could
not be handled without endangering its safety, as well as the safety of our
staff. The feral nature of the cat did not allow our staff to
draw pre-operative blood work to in order to assess its wellness. As
standard protocol with this organization, feral cats are sedated using
injectable intramuscular anesthesia through the trap so they can be properly
examined. *** ** *** authorized this action when the
cat was dropped off, signing our standard consent forms indicating the cat was
to be sedated without blood work. It should be noted, however, that although
helpful in assessing the general health of an animal, blood work is not able to
fully determine how well an animal will handle anesthesia; and that seems
to be where the miscommunication started when the complaining party
called days later.
The cat was examined
under sedation and found to be quite ill. Felines are notoriously stoic
and may not outwardly display just how sick they really are. Upon
examination we found severe conjunctivitis, enlarged lymph nodes, and dental
disease. After we completed our examination, the cat was allowed to wake
up in a carrier the organization provided, rather than a standard cage as
requested. This again is for the animal’s safety and our own, as
retrieving a feral cat from a cage can be quite dangerousUnfortunately, the
cat never fully recovered from anesthesia and passed away. All events were
recorded as they occurred
We do owe an apology for
the miscommunication that occurred when the original caretaker called.
Legally, we cannot disclose information regarding an animal unless it is to the
owner, and based on the paperwork that was the Rescue
organization “*** ** ***. When the woman who was
previously caring for the cat called, we needed authorization to give her the
stray cat’s information. Her communication was received as a grieving pet
owner, so the owner of the hospital, DrFrank, took the call and
answered her questions, even though he had not been the primary
veterinarian on the case. He did not have the file readily available to
him, and was not prepared for the threatening nature of the callThe
veterinarian who worked the case then attempted to contact the caretaker
multiple times in order to address any additional questions
personally, and no phone calls were returned
West
port AnimalHospital again expresses its condolences
for the loss of this pet

Review: I had taken care of a beautiful healthy partly-feral cat for over a year - I had fed this cat daily and provided bedding for him for all of this time and he allowed me to pet him. He trusted me - therefore not strictly a feral cat since he had socialization with me for all of this time.He developed an eye infection and I asked an animal rescue person to capture him at my home so that he could be taken for medical care for his eye. On Tuesday, March 12th, the rescue person successfully captured the cat and took him to Westport Veterinary Hospital. She left him in the hands of the hospital and informed them that she would pick him up later in the day and bring him back to me. I was in NY that day and I called the veterinarian hospital around 4 that afternoon to ask about the charges since I intended to pay. I was quickly put on the phone with the vet who told me the the cat had died! According to the rescue person, she only received one phone call on her cell phone earlier in the day from this hospital and she did not pick up her messages. I was shocked by this news and so was she.Yesterday, after trying to cope with my grief, I called the vet, Dr. Frank. He informed me that the rescue person had been asked by the staff of the hospital if she wanted pre operative blood work done on this cat and that she had refused. In fact, he told me that this information was in the medical chart. He further suggested that had this blood work been done, the cat might have had a better chance. Dr, Frank told me that this was the fault of his receptionist and that he would speak to her about it. He then put me "on hold" and came back to the phone saying he was mistaken -she had not asked the rescue person and that there was nothing in the chart. However, when I questioned the rescue person, she went to the hospital and saw that there was information in the chart after all! Clearly, the medical records were falsified. This is a serious matter and clearly a cover up of something that went wrong.Desired Settlement: I am asking full refund of what was charged a well as accountability of this veterinarian.Many people in the area who are involved with feral cats bring their animals to this hospital and I do not want a tragedy like this to happen to anyone again! I am a medical professional and this is highly suspicious. The vet has changed his story 3 times in one phone call and all this cat went in to the hospital for was an infected eye. Something is very wrong in this practice

Business

Response:

Westport Animal Hospital

814 Post Road East

Westport, CT 06880

Phone ###-###-####

Fax ###-###-####

First and foremost, it is

with deepest sympathies that we reflect on this unfortunate loss. At Westport Animal Hospital

the death of any animal deeply affects us as we maintain the oath taken by

veterinarians to above all else do no harm.

The cat in question was

presented to us by a rescue organization, Animals in Distress, who

regularly handle stray cats. It was given the working

name “Stray 32 Drumland”. The cat was feral enough that it needed to

be trapped in order to be brought in, and it was not current on its Rabies

vaccination. Despite its behavior with his caretaker, the cat could

not be handled without endangering its safety, as well as the safety of our

staff. The feral nature of the cat did not allow our staff to

draw pre-operative blood work to in order to assess its wellness. As

standard protocol with this organization, feral cats are sedated using

injectable intramuscular anesthesia through the trap so they can be properly

examined. [redacted] authorized this action when the

cat was dropped off, signing our standard consent forms indicating the cat was

to be sedated without blood work. It should be noted, however, that although

helpful in assessing the general health of an animal, blood work is not able to

fully determine how well an animal will handle anesthesia; and that seems

to be where the miscommunication started when the complaining party

called days later.

The cat was examined

under sedation and found to be quite ill. Felines are notoriously stoic

and may not outwardly display just how sick they really are. Upon

examination we found severe conjunctivitis, enlarged lymph nodes, and dental

disease. After we completed our examination, the cat was allowed to wake

up in a carrier the organization provided, rather than a standard cage as

requested. This again is for the animal’s safety and our own, as

retrieving a feral cat from a cage can be quite dangerous. Unfortunately, the

cat never fully recovered from anesthesia and passed away. All events were

recorded as they occurred.

We do owe an apology for

the miscommunication that occurred when the original caretaker called.

Legally, we cannot disclose information regarding an animal unless it is to the

owner, and based on the paperwork that was the Rescue

organization “[redacted]. When the woman who was

previously caring for the cat called, we needed authorization to give her the

stray cat’s information. Her communication was received as a grieving pet

owner, so the owner of the hospital, Dr. Frank, took the call and

answered her questions, even though he had not been the primary

veterinarian on the case. He did not have the file readily available to

him, and was not prepared for the threatening nature of the call. The

veterinarian who worked the case then attempted to contact the caretaker

multiple times in order to address any additional questions

personally, and no phone calls were returned.

West

port Animal Hospital again expresses its condolences

for the loss of this pet.

Consumer

Response:

Review: 9976045

I am rejecting this response because:

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Description: Veterinarians, Animal Hospitals

Address: 814 Post Rd E, Westport, Connecticut, United States, 06880

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