If I could rate 0 stars I would. It's a shame to leave this review for this whole office because of…read morethe acts of one veterinarian, however I cannot and will never recommend Lennox & Addington Animal Hospital, nor any office under UPPER CANADA VETERINARY GROUP INC..
I had a male cat (neutered) who had chronic UTI's. He was on special food, medications, etc. He suddenly fell extremely ill due to a UTI, and Lennox & Addington Animal Hospital was the nearest, open, vet clinic to me. At first when we called ahead, they tried to refuse us claiming they weren't an animal hospital. After a few minutes they finally agreed to see us.
First getting there, he was seen by Dr. Sarah Edwards. She would interrupt me anytime I tried to speak, or just disregard me. I even tried to show her the medication he was on, which she refused too even look at in my hands. She did tell me that the surgery he needed could have side effects and cause problems, however never told me what the side effects would be and rushed into talking about payment (keep this in mind for later). While I was signing forms, Dr. Edwards would keep talking about how time was crucial and we needed to do this ASAP, almost as if she didn't want to give me time to read the forms I was signing.
The procedure lasted about 3 hours longer than I was told it would last, with vet techs/assistants (not sure who they were in all honesty) coming out to tell me occasionally that everything was going great. After it was finally finished, Dr. Edwards came out and told me that everything went well and that he would make a full recovery after being monitored overnight with fluids. I then asked if I could see him, which I was refused because he was "still groggy from the anesthetic."....but by this time, he should have been awake enough to go and at least look at.
Now, they began requesting payment. For this whole thing, I had to pay roughly $1900. It went past my daily limit on my bank account, and they refused to set up a payment plan. Meaning, I couldn't even see or take my cat until they were paid in full. I was never told the results of blood tests or the x-rays that were taken. After finding a way to pay approx. $1000, Dr. Edwards finally told me she was "concerned" about my cat. She told me there was a "possibility of brain damage." This is something she should have told me right away. After finally paying what I could, they decided to make us sign a form saying we will pay them the next day, so that I could still pay the second vet (where he was to go for monitoring & fluids). Upon seeing him (first time since going into surgery), I could immediately see there was something extremely wrong. All while Dr. Edwards and the assistant (Trish Stevenson V.A.) didn't seem to be worried. They gave me a bag of medication to take to the second vet, and my cat with the catheter attached, and the carrier. All at once, not the cat IN the carrier, they expected me to be able to take all of this at once to my car while not injuring my cat. I had to ask for help.
Upon arriving at the second veterinary clinic in Kingston, I was told immediately that my cat did in fact have brain damage and he would not make it through the night. I had to make the decision to have him humanely euthanized. This vet was much more caring and honest. They even told me the results of the blood work and x-rays, which Dr. Edwards did not. Funnily enough, I was told these tests had "strange" symptoms for a UTI, and this vet had never seen anything like them before. So, the surgery that was done may not have been the right procedure, however Dr. Edwards never told me this.
I understand that complications can happen during surgery, after all of this I did my own research and found that brain damage can occur from complications during surgery (not enough oxygen, for example.) However, Dr. Edwards hid his actual symptoms and situation from me, and only pressed on until I paid the bill. The bag of medication I was given hadn't been opened, nothing was used. I received an email from Lennox & Addington Animal Hospital requesting a follow up appointment for my cat, who had passed away. This was extremely hurtful especially while I was grieving. I tried to return/get a refund for the medication two days later (when I returned to pay the final piece of the bill) and was refused. A few days later, they called to let me know they decided they would refund the medication.
All in all, I am extremely unhappy with the acts and dishonesty of Dr. Sarah Edwards. I will be making a formal complaint towards her elsewhere. I would advise against using Lennox and Addington Animal Hospital, or again any office under Upper Canada Veterinary Group INC. in the Kingston/Napanee area.
