I used to love this place, but I have never experienced such poor customer service. I was a loyal customer here for about 2 years because of their financial aid program. I received a 45% discount on all services and medications. My dog needed a lot of visits, medications, and operations because she is very old and in poor health. My financial aid expired a few months ago and they asked that I bring in more proof of income. I brought the same form of proof that I originally brought. They told me that the person who processes financial aid paperwork was out of the office but they would have it taken care of the next day. I bit the bullet and had to pay a full-priced bill of nearly $200. I thought that it was ok to pay that much once because they've helped me out with the discount so much in the past and would continue to do so in the future. Well Animal Aid (specifically Renee, the receptionist) decided to cancel my financial aid assistance even though none of my circumstances changed. Same income, same pet (only 1 pet total in my household), same medications. I tried to order a refill for one of my dog's medications today. They didn't call me back like they said they would (and honestly have only called back when they said they would once). I had to call back several hours later and she said "Oh yeah, that's already ready." The price didn't sound right so I asked whether that was including my discount. She said "No, your account isn't showing a discount at all." I explained everything mentioned above and said that the discount should have been processed by now. It was then that she told me that they have written in my file that I acquired another pet so that means that I can NEVER GET AID FROM THEM AGAIN. NEVER, EVER. I had her clarify and explain this to me multiple times. The thing is, (and I explained this to her ad nauseam) I ONLY OWN ONE PET! I have never owned another pet. A stray cat wandered into my yard a few months ago and I fed him until I had my friend officially adopt him and fill out the paperwork at a new vet. I have never paid any bills for that cat and Animal Aid never met him. The only reason that Animal Aid knew about the cat in the first place is because I called to ask cat neutering for my friend. The receptionist I spoke to at the time apparently wrongfully recorded in my file that I adopted another pet, without any clarification or notice. When I pleaded with Renee about this situation and informed her that whoever wrote that in my file made a mistake, she said that there was nothing they could do. NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO FIX A MISTAKE THAT THEY MADE, IN THE BETTER INTEREST OF HELPING A SICK PET AND LOYAL CUSTOMER. I have never been treated so poorly by a business. She said "Those are the rules and there is nothing we can do." She also told me that there was nothing I could do (even proof that that cat belongs to someone else) to reverse the situation. And she even admitted that she believed that I was telling the truth! I can never receive the aid that I deserve again. Renee is a partial owner of this business so once she makes up her mind about something, she gets to decide how it's handled. And being a partial owner, with all that power you would think that she has the power to delete that mistake from my file, but she refused. This was a simple mistake with a simple solution that could have been handled in a diplomatic fashion. This business is neither diplomatic nor trustworthy. They value high paying customers more, even though they claim to be a haven for broke people with needy pets. Something has changed in the past year and they are no longer the same loving, caring business they used to be. It is painfully apparent that the people who run this business, namely Renee, do not care about the well being of your pet, but rather only about getting as much money as possible.
AND customers should be aware that my dog never had any seizures (she's 11) in her whole life until after Animal Aid removed her eye (because she has glaucoma). I spoke with every vet in my area (Chattanooga) about my dog's situation and they told me that the seizures she has been experiencing could very well be caused by a careless accident during her eye removal. Please be extra cautious when considering this organization. It's safer to choose Animal Clinic or Union Hill. My dog (who is normally extremely calm) freaked out & tried to escape every time I brought her there because she was traumatized by surgery. The medicine they prescribed for her consistently failed to work & was very expensive. I think that Dr.'s Dolen & Houssley (& the veterinary assistants) actually do care about helping, but their resources are limited & they are confined to working within the ridiculous guidelines set in place by their superiors. Save yourself the trouble & worry about gambling with this vet, & entrust your fur babies with a more reliable & caring business. read more
