Recently I had an experience with my dog who was having seizures. I brought her in hoping for…read moreurgency when what I assume was the receptionist noticed me crying, but the receptionist continued her phone call. Maybe that is protocol (first come, first serve), or maybe she did not notice me, but she was not the reason for me writing a review.
I was brought to the back where I met Dr.Boyce. After explaining what happened, Dr.Boyce suggested two options for my dog; she stay for observation where she can be monitored and administered medicine, if needed again, or she come home with us and we administer the medicine ourselves. He gave us the room to determine what was best for my dog as another attendant brought her back with a catheter for monitoring, so I could see her. I admit I was not fully present due to realizing the severity of my dog, but I knew I wanted her to be around professionals who could help her better than I, if needed. When Dr.Boyce re-entered, I unknowingly and accidentally interrupted him by saying, "we'll let you monitor her," not realizing he was speaking while walking in. I assume the doctor only caught the end of my statement, because he acknowledged it with an "oh, okay" and continued speaking about the preventative medicine we would need to give her when I took her home for good that night. Dr.Boyce then took my dog, mentioning he was going to remove her catheter and left, but again, I was kind of out-of-it with the severity of my dog. By the time the next person entered the room, it was the attendant with my dog without a catheter and her 'instant' medicine. As she guided me to the front, I was confused and told the attendant that I believe there was a miscommunication, because I had told the doctor I wanted my dog to stay. Dr.Boyce was within earshot and spoke up saying "Oh we took out the catheter already, I thought you said you wanted to take her," as he ushered the attendant to take her back. No sorry or acknowledgment of the miscommunication which to me, confirmed the lack of bedside manner I had felt previously with his "oh, okay." Looking back, my annoyance was more so in the fact that nobody confirmed anything, when a simple "are you sure" would have clarified the miscommunication. As someone who has had her for over 15 years, I know that dogs can be expensive, and knowing I wanted to do everything within my financial power to help her get better, I was left in that moment wondering how much extra putting the catheter back in would be if they needed to.
We came back around 2 hours later to pick her up. After learning that she had been ok from the attendant, we received the special 'instant' medicine to stop her seizures, but there were no further aftercare about what my dog could or couldn't do, where I was to get the preventative medicine, and especially no written instructions. I arrived home exhausted, and found myself unable to fully explain what do to next, or what to do if special circumstances were to arise. I placed my dog in her bed but was unaware if she was allowed to go to sleep? Was the room light too bright? I wished I didn't have doubts that could have been again, answered.
My intention is not to leave this to ruin the reputation of a vet clinic that I'm sure had good intentions - as shown by the 5.0 scoring. It is more so to make aware of gaps that could hopefully be filled going forward by ensuring actions are made with 100% clarity, not leaving dog owners uncertain.